County fixes kinks in fuel tanks

CREEDE— During the first of the month meeting of the Mineral County Commissioners on Monday, July 3, Chairwoman Ramona Weber reported that the fuel tanks at the airport were experiencing difficulties connecting the sale of the fuel to the onsite credit card machines. The sales that were going through the newly installed pumps were not charging through to the credit card machines causing county employees to have to be present during a sale to accept cash or checks for the purchase of fuel.
Weber stated that they had been in contact with the company responsible for the machines and that a solution was on the horizon. “We have had so many issues in getting the fuel tanks installed and now the equipment is not working properly. I think we got the point across that we want a swift resolution,” stated Weber. Later that same week, the machine communication issues were resolved and the tanks are now up and running properly. The income from serving as a fueling station will be small and hopes are that the endeavor will become self-sustaining, keeping costs to a minimum for the county.
The project began back in the spring of 2015 when Weber worked with airport officials to apply for CDOT grant funding. Once the funding was awarded, Weber struggled finding a company that would construct the tanks and then install them within the cost guidelines set forth by the grant. In the beginning, the tanks were going to be upwards of 6,000-gallon tanks, but had to be smaller in order to fit within the cost budgeted for the project.
Several area flight organizations are looking forward to being able to fuel in the Creede area. Before Weber worked to get the tanks installed, organizations like flight for life, search and rescue and the Colorado Department of Wildlife (CDOW) had to fly as far as Durango and beyond to fuel when working in the area.
Mineral County signed into a contract with Alliance Testing for the installation of fuel tanks at the airport in June, stating that the grant had been issued and would help with $300,000 of costs associated with the project.
Weber and the commissioners previously discussed that having a fueling point in the airport would open up opportunities for the local community and any flights needing a fueling station coming through the area. The tanks will provide a chance to create ongoing partnerships between Mineral County and flight for life as well as the forest service, CDOW and BLM.
Each tank is capable of holding 4,000 gallons of aviation fuel for the airport. The county was able to purchase two tanks with help from the grant. By purchasing the fuel tanks for the airport Mineral County will become a refueling site for passing aircrafts providing they meet the airport requirements.
Estimates showed that the county would make approximately 10 percent over the cost of fuel as revenue from fuel sales once the project is completed. It is the hope of the county that ultimately the revenue from fuel sales will cover the cost of fuel, making the endeavor a self-sustaining service of the county.
The remaining amount of funding was taken care of through in-kind grant requirements and a small amount of cash from the county. The tanks are triple walled, cement lined and are environmentally sound.
The next step will be to look into funding for an on-ground weather system that would allow pilots to see weather conditions on the ground at the airport. Several small airports use these systems which would be a great asset to the Mineral County Airport where weather reporting is pretty slim.
The tanks are filled with two types of fuel; Jet A and Av Gas that contain higher amounts of octane than regular fuel. The fuel also has a life span of 10 years or more before being considered unusable.


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