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Bedford County weighs centralized fueling station as diesel prices surge
Summary
County staff and department representatives told commissioners diesel costs have doubled since March and proposed a countywide fueling station with software controls and two 10,000-gallon tanks to provide resilience and reduce theft; commissioners asked for cost estimates and operational details.
Department representatives and county finance staff told the board that diesel fuel costs have roughly doubled in a short period, straining highway and solid-waste budgets and prompting a proposal for a centralized county fueling station.
At the meeting, a highway/operations speaker said they had increased the diesel budget by $25,000 but asked the committee to consider adding at least another $25,000 because “our fuel cost for the highway and solid waste, it has doubled from what we paid in April or March.”
Robert and department officials said the county is proposing a fueling station design with two 10,000-gallon tanks (split into two 5,000-gallon compartments for diesel and gasoline on each tank) and separate pumping stations so buses, road equipment and sheriff vehicles can refuel. Robert said the plan includes software-based controls to restrict fueling to authorized users and limit theft: “we're gonna have software that would hopefully have a ring on the tank, and that fuel will not be pumped into there unless that ring is there.”
Department officials noted the station would also provide operational resilience: repositories of spare fuel to use in emergencies and reduce long volunteer trips to refuel; one speaker described round trips of roughly 16 miles from outlying stations.
What remains to be decided: the location and final cost. Robert said the county estimates the fueling-station project at about $500,000 but that figure is a preliminary ballpark and needs refinement. Commissioners asked staff to return with narrowed cost estimates and operational plans, including which departments would have access and how the county would monitor usage.
No formal action was taken; the matter was discussed as part of the budget study session and will be refined in subsequent budget documents and committee meetings.
Sources: Presentation by highway/operations staff and Robert during the Bedford County budget study session.
