BENTONVILLE — Benton County’s justices of the peace were reluctant Tuesday to commit the county’s money and equipment to a proposal to build a compressed natural gas fueling station.
Craig Hull with Fuels & Supplies in Springdale briefed the Quorum Court’s Committee of the Whole on the company’s proposal to lease space near the Road Department on Southwest 14th Street in Bentonville as a site for a compressed natural gas station to serve county vehicles and be open to the public as well.
Hull said Northwest Arkansas is a logical area for development of the compressed natural gas industry, which is growing in Oklahoma and has spread to the Fort Smith and Central Arkansas areas.
At A Glance
Committee Action
Benton County’s Committee of the Whole on Tuesday approved:
• Applying for a $200,000 grant for the Adult Drug Court program.
• Spendiing $281,106 for the Fisher Ford Road and Colonel Meyers Road bridge projects.
• Spending $60,900 to buy laundry equipment for the Benton County Jail, iPhones, clothing and uniforms.
• Applying for a $10,732 grant for voting machines and equipment.
Source: Staff Report
In Hull’s proposal, the county would lease land at a nominal price and commit to converting some vehicles to use compressed natural gas. He presented information to the committee on the cost of converting Chevrolet Tahoes. The Quorum Court approved buying 10 Tahoes for the Sheriff’s Office.
Hull said the cost to convert one of the vehicles is $12,750. He said with an average annual use of 30,000 miles at the price of gasoline and compressed natural gas fuel the county would recover the cost in 4.5 years, and could expect annual fuel savings of $27,966.
Justice of the Peace Kurt Moore added his research indicates vehicles converted to compressed natural gas fuel also have higher resale value.
Hull said with current prices conversion is most feasible for vehicles with mileage rates of 18 miles per gallon of gasoline or less. He said the Tahoes would be highly suited to conversion and County Judge Bob Clinard said the Road Department has a number of trucks and other vehicles that might also be suitable.
Justice of the Peace Susan Anglin asked Hull about the comparative value of using propane as a fuel, rather than compressed natural gas. Anglin said she couldn’t support Hull’s proposal without first seeking information about propane fuel.
The justices of the peace also asked about price stability for compressed natural gas, the performance of a converted vehicle and about potential traffic problems and the need for state approval for traffic signals if the site on Southwest 14th Street were approved.
Justice of the Peace Mike McKenzie said he couldn’t move forward on a plan that made use of county property without putting it out for bids. Hull said his company would be willing to go through a bid process if that’s what the county requires. Justice of the Peace Kevin Harrison also said opening the process up for bids would be a good idea. The justices of the peace took no formal action on the proposal Tuesday.
The committee did approve a request to buy two dump trucks, a fuel and lube truck and a mini-excavator for the Road Department, The vehicles will cost about $475,000.
Also Tuesday, the justices of the peace approved some reorganization plans for the Sheriff’s Office and Jail, the Road Department, the County Judge’s Office and accounting and human resources department. Sara Daniels, county comptroller, said the overall effect of the reorganizations is to cut the budget by $25,432.