WDC wants to slash transfer station hours

Whangarei District Council wants to slash the opening hours of its rubbish transfer stations by up to half and will ask the affected communities the best hours for the sites to open.
The matter of cutting opening hours was raised at a council works and services committee meeting last week and while the councillors were divided six-six on whether to go ahead with the plans, committee chairman Phil Halse used his casting vote to approve the proposal.
In a report to the meeting the council's solid-waste engineer John Langsford said the cost of staffing the district's eight transfer stations was $763,000 a year, while revenue raised was $250,000.
Mr Langsford said revenue covered only 33 percent of costs and a net cost of $513,000 a year would arise if transfer station opening hours remained unchanged.
He said staffing of transfer stations was introduced in November 2005. Fees for disposal were introduced at the same time, and this has led to a substantial drop in refuse volumes _ around 40 percent of what they were prior to November 2005, and as a result budgeted revenue has not been met.
Mr Langsford said other councils and private sector operators restrict opening hours to below half the open hours for Whangarei district stations.
All Whangarei transfer stations, except Ruatangata, are open 66.5 hours a week, from 7.30am to 5pm, seven days per week. Ruatangata was to have been closed, but a compromise was agreed for 20 hours per week over four days.
The council was split down the middle on a motion by Cr Sheryl Mai that the opening hours at transfer stations (other than Re:Sort in Kioreroa Rd) be reduced to reduce operating costs, and that the council's Waste Minimisation Focus Group oversee consultation with affected community groups to review and work out appropriate opening hours.
The proposal is to cut opening hours at the smaller Parua Bay and Oakura transfer stations to 20 hours a week, with flexibility as to days and times to best meet community needs. The other stations, at Ngunguru, Uretiti, Hikurangi, and Kokopu would likely open for 30 hours a week. There is no plan to reduce the hours at Re:sort, the largest transfer station.
Councillors Crichton Christie, Robin Lieffering, John Williamson, Mai, Mayor Pamela Peters and Deputy Mayor Phil Halse all voted for the reduced hours and consultation, while councillors Shelley Deeming, Frank Newman, Greg Martin, Ann Shaw, Kahu Sutherland and Merv Williams all opposed cutting hours. Cr Halse, as committee chairman, used his casting vote to pass the motion.
The council will now start consulting with the various communities to find suitable opening hours, but the intention is to cut opening hours dramatically.
Cutting the opening hours is expected to save the council about $427,000 a year.