Orange County NC Website
19 <br /> services, induding integration of the public education and outreach function,was cost <br /> competitive with proposals received from the private sector. The county maintains a <br /> considerable economy of scale with its county-wide compliment of services and programs. <br /> 47. What are the costs of opening the five convenience centers 7 days/week? <br /> A brief evaluation of the cost to extend the hours of convenience centers to seven days/week <br /> has resulted in an estimated cost of$400,000 to$440,000 per year increase over current <br /> operating costs. Amore thorough and detailed analysis should be conducted to develop budget <br /> level cost estimates. The above estimate assumes 362 days per year operation,from 7am to <br /> 6pm. It should be noted that the convenience centers have never been open seven daysiweek <br /> since their creation in the early 1090's. They have always been dosed on Wednesdays for <br /> employee training and site maintenance purposes. <br /> There are a number of issues and assumptions that would have to be tested to confirm any cost <br /> proposal, including garbage/trash service and storage capacity given our dependence on distant <br /> waste transfer station disposal. Currently,with the available transfer station operations dosing <br /> at noon on Saturday until Monday,the waste collected at the centers Saturday afternoon and <br /> Sunday afternoon must be stored until Monday disposal. Our storage capacity used is typically <br /> at a maximum until we can dispose of the waste Monday morning. Opening Sunday morning <br /> would require additional storage capacity that has not been incorporated into the above <br /> estimates. There are certainly other, less extensive schedule of operation expansions that <br /> could be considered. Staff would suggest a comprehensive analysis of such a major expansion of <br /> hours at convenience centers prior to any serious discussion of such a decision. <br /> It should also be noted that previous Board of Commissioners' have made a commitment to a <br /> concept of Neighborhood/District Convenience Centers. This concept presumes that the District <br /> centers would have more expansive hours of operation and that Neighborhood Centers would <br /> have less expansive hours of operation. Part of the basis for this concept was to balance hours <br /> of operation with level of use, resulting in a less costly program; a balance of cost with <br /> convenience. <br /> 48. What reason does the county have to believe that the 1,650"new" households being added to <br /> the taxdistrict (those which have not been included in curbside recycling to date)intend to use <br /> the service if provided? What reason isthereto believe that adding these householdswill <br /> increase the total amount of recycling in the county,given that the program already has 55-60% <br /> participation levels? <br /> The majority of the residences included in the proposed expansion area of the district beyond <br /> the current service area include more dense neighborhoods that were identified in field surveys <br /> conducted 2-3 years ago for the purpose of identifying priority areasfor program expansion. <br /> For some of these areaswe have received resident requests or inquirieswith regard to <br /> expanding services. We feel confident that the proposed expansion areaswill meet or exceed <br /> the 57%participation rate of the existing area. There are some less dense areas also included <br /> either due to statutory contiguity requirements for service districts or as a result of routing <br /> connectivity reasons. It is our expectation, based on similar areas currently serviced,that we <br /> can expect participation rates at or beyond the current program-wide average 57%rate. <br /> 12 <br />