Collegedale commission approves airport fuel-truck lease and sewer rate increase, tables community framework plan

The Collegedale City Commission met Aug. 4 and approved a three-year lease for an airport Jet A fuel truck, adopted an ordinance raising sewer service rates to help pay for a pump-station rebuild, and tabled formal adoption of the Collegedale Community Framework Area Plan after multiple commissioners and business owners raised questions about property impacts and public outreach.

Commissioners voted unanimously to lease a used 2,200-gallon jet-fuel truck on terms the city attorney must clear; the motion required removal of an indemnity clause and a provision that the city will not take possession of the truck until required operator training is completed. Mayor Lloyd and city staff said the truck will be paid from the airport enterprise fund and that early donations from local aircraft owners will cover initial operating shortfalls.

Public works staff and the mayor argued the fuel truck will increase airport fuel sales by bringing transient and based jets back to Collegedale for fuel. Mayor Lloyd presented calculations from conversations with local aircraft owners and prospective tenants at the SkyBoss facility that he said would yield several thousand dollars a month in additional sales once new jets and tenants begin fueling here; he called the lease “a no brainer.” City staff said the lease payment listed in the contract is $1,400 per month, with insurance estimated at about $2,200 per year and a cancellation fee in the neighborhood of $2,700.

The commission also completed a second reading and public hearing for Ordinance 1164, revising sewer rates. No members of the public spoke during the hearing. City public-works staff said the bulk of the requested rate increase will pay for rebuilding a pump station the city considers beyond its useful life; staff gave an engineer estimate under $4 million and said roughly $1.3 million of the project is anticipated to come from…