Quorum Court approves $665,500 transfer to build county fuel island after questions about costs and safeguards

The Quorum Court voted to transfer $665,500 in existing savings to build a new county fuel island, with funds moved into Buildings and Grounds for construction and related needs.

Justice Rio Stafford moved for approval of the ordinance, citing committee discussions that included a cost-savings analysis showing the county could save between $71,000 and $113,000 per year by operating a county-owned fueling system and bidding fuel annually. Stafford said the proposed funding breakdown was $400,000 from Buildings and Grounds, $200,000 from jail operations and maintenance, and $65,500 from the comptroller’s office.

Comptroller Sherman and staff had presented three years of fuel-use data at prior committee meetings, the ordinance sponsor said. “Depending on the fuel prices, the county could save between 71,000 and a $113,000 each year by shifting more of our fuel to a county owned system and bidding the fuel annually,” Stafford said.

Justices raised technical and environmental questions during discussion. Justice Koger asked whether tanks would be above ground or underground; Chief Mike Stewart said the current bid was for in-ground tanks but the county could pursue above-ground tanks if that proved cheaper. He said in-ground tanks were double-walled and required additional installation work (digging, certified gravel and sensors) while above-ground tanks could be more visible and less complex to install.

Justice Koger and others asked about annual registration fees, leak response and monitoring; Stewart said permit and monitoring requirements were part of the bid and that staff would follow up on details. Questions were also raised about controls on fuel use: Stewart said the system would use assigned fuel cards or pro keys tied to vehicles and that having on-site fueling would make misuse harder to conceal compared with offsite credit-card fills.

Several public commenters asked fiscal questions about using savings and about the county’s larger capital and operating commitments (including an ongoing jail expansion). One commenter asked for more detailed public accounting before moving forward; Chief Stewart and other staff answered that the $665,500 estimate covers the in-ground approach as bid and that above-ground options would likely be cheaper but require rebidding.

The motion to approve was made by Justice Rio Stafford and seconded by Justice Rivera Lopez. The roll call produced the following recorded votes: Justice Bruns — yes; Justice Wilson — yes; Justice Massengill — yes; Justice Rivera Lopez — yes; Justice Ecki — yes; Justice Dean — yes; Justice Washington — yes; Justice Koger — no; Justice Dennis — no; Justice Hires — yes; Justice Rio Stafford — yes; Justice Lemming — abstain; Justice Ricker — yes; Justice Pond — abstain. The ordinance passed.