Stevensville council tables FuelMaster maintenance contract amid ownership and safety concerns

The Stevensville Town Council on Wednesday postponed action on a six-month, prorated maintenance agreement with the vendor that supports the airport’s FuelMaster point-of-sale system after public commenters and council members raised unresolved legal and safety questions about ownership of the fueling equipment and oversight of airport fuel operations.

The proposed service agreement would have been a six-month, prorated version of a one-year contract for $850. Town staff said the vendor would retroactively apply about $820 in accumulated hourly support charges to the contract and provide unlimited service calls and parts for the six-month term. Ryan, a town staff member presenting the item, told the council: “If we sign up for a maintenance agreement for $850, they’ll apply those $820 in charges to this. Plus, we’ll get all future unlimited future calls for the 6 month duration.”

Why it matters: the system is tied to fuel sales at the Stevensville airport, and speakers said unresolved questions about who legally owns the FuelMaster equipment and who is entitled to royalty or revenue payments complicate approving a maintenance contract, could affect where fuel-sale revenue goes and create potential liability if fuel-handling and…