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<br />ORANGE COUNTY <br />BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS <br />ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT <br /> Meeting Date: February 20, 2018 <br /> Action Agenda <br /> Item No. 8-d <br /> <br />SUBJECT: Approval of an Additional Automotive Mechanic Position <br /> <br />DEPARTMENT: Orange County Public <br />Transportation; Asset <br />Management Services <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />ATTACHMENT(S): <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />INFORMATION CONTACT: <br />Theo Letman, 919-245-2007 <br />Jeff Thompson, 919-245-2658 <br />Alan Dorman, 919-245-2627 <br /> <br /> <br />PURPOSE: To approve an additional Automotive Mechanic position (1.0 FTE) to start by April <br />15, 2018 to work within the Fleet Maintenance Division of Asset Management Services, with <br />funding from an ongoing 5307 Federal Transit Administration Small Urban Grant appropriated to <br />Orange County Public Transportation (“OCPT”), as well as funds from the operating budget of <br />OCPT that will be used for the 50% match required by the grant. <br /> <br />BACKGROUND: The Orange County Fleet Maintenance division supports approximately 330 <br />vehicles across all operating departments, excluding Orange County Solid Waste vehicles. The <br />division is staffed by three fulltime mechanics and is managed by a working supervisor. Orange <br />County Fleet Maintenance maintains vehicles for Emergency Services, the Sheriff’s Office, and <br />OCPT, as well as all administration vehicles. <br /> <br />Over the last four fiscal years, OCPT has increased service. Since FY 2014 -15 OCPT has <br />added the following fixed route services: Hillsborough Circulator, Midday Chapel Hill Connector, <br />and the Orange Alamance Connector. OCPT has also been authorized to implement two other <br />fixed route / demand services. Additionally, there has been a marked increase in Medicaid <br />transportation which also strains vehicle availability. <br /> <br />To provide these services, OCPT vehicle fleet and mileage have increased significantly. <br />Additionally, beginning in 2014 OCPT began working closely with Fleet Maintenance to ensure <br />that the Federal Transportation Administration (“FTA”) standards for bus maintenance and spare <br />unit availability were closely followed for preventive maintenance services. Ensuring that the <br />OCPT Fleet was maintained within these more stringent tolerances expected by the FTA <br />required more intensive labor services to be provided by Fleet Maintenance staff. <br /> <br />The table below illustrates the increasing fleet size and the corresponding mileage and <br />resources required to maintain the OCPT fleet. <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />1