County approves spending $900K to replace fuel farm
File photo by Tom Rivers: The county will replace its fuel farm on West Academy Street in Albion, a facility constructed in 1993 and operating at 50 percent capacity due to deterioration.
ALBION – Orleans County legislators agreed on Tuesday to a $900,000 construction bid to replace the fuel farm on West Academy Street.
The site is used by the county fleet of vehicles, and other municipalities and not-for-profit agencies.
The fuel farm was built in 1993 but is currently at 50 percent capacity due to deterioration of various components of the system, legislators said.
The Legislature approved a bid from The Pump Doctor in Eden to demolish the current fueling system and install a new station at a cost not to exceed $900,000.
The fuel farm in 2022 was used for 161,700 gallons of unleaded gas and 95,720 gallons of diesel. County vehicles used 64,500 gallons of unleaded and 22,570 of diesel while other agencies used 97,200 gallons of unleaded and 73,150 gallons of diesel, according to a 2022 report on user data.
The county users include the DPW, Sheriff’s Office, Major Felony Crime Task Force, Animal Control, Emergency management Office, Public Health, Office for the Aging and Probation Department.
The outside agencies and other municipalities include Albion Central School, Town of Albion, Village of Albion, Community Action, Ministry of Concern, ARC, Mental Health Association, Mercy EMS, Soil & Water, RTS, Town of Carlton, Murray Joint Fire District, as well as being an emergency stop for various towns.
The users all pay the same price for the fuel. There is a fee that goes towards maintenance of the system, said Jack Welch, the county chief administrative officer.
It will take 12-16 weeks for the equipment to be fabricated and available for the delivery, he said.
“We hope the new system will be operational in August, prior to the start of the new school year,” Welch said.
Welch said the county did an analysis of the pros and cons of an in-house fuel farm vs. a WEX program where municipalities and not-for-profits can buy fuel at a retail store without taxes.
“When the analysis went beyond the dollars and cents and looked at the size of the vehicles, school buses, fire trucks and ten wheelers,” Welch said. “We discussed the idea of the WEX program with the owners of Crosby’s, our largest chain of gas stations. We also considered how the change could impact the retail customers of fuel stations in a positive or negative manner.”
County Legislator Fred Miller said the larger vehicles such as school buses don’t fit at some of the local gas stations, and he was concerned without the fuel farm there would be longer waits at the local gas stations with municipal vehicles filling up.
Editor’s Note: This article was updated from the original version to include more data and comments from county officials.
