Fuel Line Repair and Alternative Sites Reports
L A Wood, July 17, 1995

On March 25, 1995, a contract bid for repair of the diesel fuel tank at Berkeley's Corporation Yard came before the City Council as a consent item. More information on the station repair and alternative strategies for fueling were requested by Council. This report, as well as the contract for the fuel line repair, are due to be presented at the July 25th Regular Meeting.

Several months ago, Council viewed a video at the public forum entitled "Traffic in Transit" (available from the City Clerk). This look at Berkeley's vehicle fleet was an attempt to draw the logical connections between fueling practices, operational trip reduction, and their budgetary impacts. (See attachment 1.) The need to repair the diesel fuel line at the Corporation Yard has raised questions again concerning the city's gasoline station and its fueling practices.

At the July Public Works Commission meeting, staff presented its Alternative Sites Report. This incomplete final draft suggests six alternatives as possible fueling options. All the options, except one, support the expenditure of $83,000 to repair the diesel line. None of the options expressed the alternative of operating only an unleaded fuel tank at the Corporation Yard and the abandonment of the tank currently designated for diesel fuel.

The Transfer Station has twice the storage capacity for diesel as the Corporation Yard does. It should also be noted that nearly every Corporation Yard-based vehicle requiring diesel fuel makes its way down to the Transfer Station at least once a day. These large vehicles could be fueled then.

An important element of the city's fueling practices is emergency preparedness. The Corporation Yard's fuel reserves support the current emergency plan, but is only one of several fueling site options available to Berkeley. Many local governments make very effective use of public stations, both for emergency and non-emergency vehicles.

The argument to fuel the current number of fire trucks at the Corporation Yard because of the distance to the Transfer Station, is faulted. The distance between the Corporation Yard and Transfer Station takes less than ten minutes on bicycle. The logic of the staff report suggests that several fire stations currently using the station at the Yard might well be violating their first response availability by fueling at the Corporation Yard. Each of these engine companies has its own diesel fuel tank. These tanks need (for emergency preparedness and trip reduction) to be upgraded and better utilized.

Berkeley's Police Department was queried regarding possible alternative fueling schemes. The Police Department, like the Public Works Department, prefers making no change from the current regimen. The option to fuel public safety vehicles at public stations, most particularly police vehicles, is an easily instituted plan and would broaden the scope of our emergency preparedness. Municipalities like Oakland have fueled patrol cars at public stations for a number of years. This practice limits time spent fueling as well as making officers more available. (See attachments 2 and 3.)

The fueling analysis (CR# 95-036 fails to address the most important budgetary impact, which is the staff time consumed in fueling Berkeley's 500 vehicles. Instead, the report focuses on the difference between a few cents more per gallon at public stations versus the Corporation Yard. Given that the average hourly rate for employees driving a city vehicle exceeds twenty-five dollars per hour, we are certainly being penny-wise and dollar foolish.*

"Because of the time constraints to make a decision on the replacement of the fuel line at the Corporation Yard, it was not possible to present the Council with a plan for alternative fueling sites," reads the Alternative Sites Report. Beyond this declaration of not being a plan, the report's analysis and data are, of course, very incomplete. In fact, it is too incomplete to support the claim of even being an Alternative Sites Report.

* If an employee fuels at the Corporation Yard, the gas savings may represent $.25 to $.40 per gallon compared to the cost at a public station. With a fill up of 10 gallons, the savings would appear to be about $4.00. However, this same employee wastes three times that amount in the cost of lost staff time just to use the city site. At the very least, we spend 12 dollars in extra staff time to save 4 dollars in gasoline costs. Now multiply this by the number of vehicles fueling every workday of every year.

Where is the analysis which should include an investigation of the private sector? What is the bottom line for the upgrade of the Corporation Yard station (1998 standards) if the diesel tank is abandoned? What is the cost of abandonment of the damaged diesel tank if no tank remediation is required? What about a joint U. C. Berkeley and City of Berkeley fueling station(s) in a commercial or industrial area? How about establishing a designated public station(s) to fuel city vehicles?

As a part of the city's recognized "affected community", I feel the need to encourage you to look closely at this complicated issue and to not be satisfied with the current staff report. As a business, the City of Berkeley operates a large fleet of support vehicles. Because of their numbers, changes in fueling policies can have a very dynamic and immediate environmental effect as well as significant budgetary savings.

Postpone funding this unnecessary fueling station repair until more information and analysis is available to you.

Fact Sheet Compiled By L A Wood 7-1-95

Berkeley continues to fuel city vehicles at the Corporation Yard as it did 80 years ago, despite maintaining a vehicle fleet over 4 times larger today. The Alternatives Sites Report states that the Transfer Station is too crowded to accommodate the fueling of Corporation Yard vehicles. However, at the March 25th Council Meeting, it was admitted by the Vehicles Maintenance Division that the City was currently discussing the shared use of our fueling station at the Second Street Transfer Station with the Berkeley School District. Berkeley's has ONE vehicle for every THREE employees. In 1991, the City of Berkeley endorsed a CLEAN AIR PLAN and committed itself to vehicle reduction (5% per year) and fuel reduction. Since that time, both have increased. Berkeley is planning a joint natural gas fueling station with the help of a Clean Air grant. Unfortunately this station will have other municipalities coming to South Berkeley, and will bring with them noise and auto congestion, not to mention increased time spent fueling and loss productivity. The emergency generator mentioned in the Sites Report is required and will be purchased. It is not contingent on the options package. All city vehicles are assigned a special electronic key to gain access via an automatic fuel dispensing system to the fuel pumps, and to maintain an ongoing record of gasoline/diesel usage. This recording system can easily be installed at a public station. Staff states that the Transfer Station would become too congested if Corporation Yard vehicles were restricted to fueling at Second Street. The truth is that most of these diesel driven vehicles pass through the Transfer Station once each day anyhow. There would be no noticeable difference in traffic or congestion if such a fueling restriction was employed.