About a week ago, Carroll County Engineer, Dave Paulson, told the board of supervisors that they were currently around $12,000 in the hole for operation of the fuel depot on the east side of Grant Road. The depot supplies fuel not only to county vehicles, but also to those from the Carroll Community School District and the city. In fact, the school district usage is at almost 50 percent with the city at 23 or 24 percent. Paulson also reported that they were nearing the end of the 30-year life expectancy of the underground tanks and a diesel pump, that will likely result in additional expenses. Later that same week, Paulson and Supervisor, Rich Ruggles, met with officials from the city and school to review options. Paulson says the first part of the discussion involved the current six cents per gallon being charged to users.
A suggestion was made for an adjustment of a dime. The question then became, was that 10 cents total or a dime on top of the six cents currently charged. Paulson says that a dime would be a dramatic increase, he preferred raising it from six to 12 cents instead. This way, they could recoup the $12,000 in arears and begin setting some aside for future repairs. Ruggles says at the onset, he thought the groups may look at going their separate ways. However the location is ideal for all parties involved. He introduced a possibility that would have each entity investing up-front.
Ruggles says there really is a sense of cooperation for everyone to work together to continue to receive the benefit of bulk fuel buying. The conversation about this type of agreement for the two diesel and one gas tank will be brought back in the future. The supervisors, however, did approve the change to 12 cents per gallon in a unanimous vote.
