2022 Report of the Cost of Government Commission

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Although use of electric vehicles may become more prominent, initial procurement and utilization has presented some concerns: • Of five EV vehicles purchased in 2012; only one remains in use. • Lack of commonality makes pre -stocking spares impractical. Existing maintenance staff will need special training, equipment and job reclassifications. Planning for and stocking replacement batteries will be difficult and expensive. Replacement batteries, which differ by electronic vehicle (EV) model, cost about $8,000, shipping costs are roughly $4,000 once vehicle warranties (normally five years) expire and take six weeks to arrive once ordered. No State disposal system exists. • Purchasing extended warranties directly from manufacturers at time of purchase would be more cost-effective. • There are not enough charging stations, and many existing ones do not work. Overnight charging required. Heavy corrosion on island affects batteries, EV charging stations (more and widely dispersed stations needed). • HPD has doubts that EVs are not large enough, too expensive, and do not have enough range prior to needing to be charged. • County should avoid prototype testing and costs of EV, hydrogen, and other new technology, purchasing and evaluating only proven vehicles. • Leasing advantages - controllable costs, vendors would do maintenance, no stocking of expense parts, no disposal concerns, easier and more flexible/timely acquisition of replacements. The county automotive repair garage is in Captain Cook, but 60 to 70 of our street legal fleet is at the West Hawaii Civic Center. Any time a car needs a safety check, someone needs to drive the vehicle from the Civic Center to Captain Cook and back. That is a trip of 40 minutes one way. It is even more time consuming if the car needs servicing since two people have to go (one to drive up there, and one to drive the other car back). Safety check trips could be eliminated by having one person come down from Captain Cook once a month to safety check all cars that are due. If a car needs some kind of minor repair such as a burned out bulb, then they can come down the next day to replace it and issue the safety check. Saves gas and time and lost productivity. 19 2022 Cost of Govemment Commission —County of Hawai'i - Final Report