Posted on 07/21/2014 7:06:35 PM PDT by lowbridge
The town of Somerset, Kentucky, opened a city-run filling station on Saturday, the Associated Press reported, offering gas to the public at below-market rates.
From the Associated Press:
The Somerset Fuel Center opened to the public selling regular unleaded gas for $3.36 a gallon, a bit lower than some nearby competitors. In the first three hours, about 75 customers fueled up at the no-frills stations, where there are no snacks, no repairs and only regular unleaded gas.
The mayor says the station was created in response to years of grumbling by townspeople about stubbornly high gas prices in Somerset, a city of about 11,000 near Lake Cumberland, a popular fishing and boating haven.
…
Four nearby stations in Somerset were selling regular unleaded for $3.39 a gallon Saturday. The prevailing price in town had been in the mid-$3.40s per gallon late in the week, said Melody Price, office manager at Somerset Fuel Center.
The city spent $200,000 to purchase the fuel storage facility a few years ago, the AP reported, and shelled out another $75,000 to convert the facility into a retail operation.
Some criticized the move, with one convenience store owner saying, ”They’ve used the taxpayer money that I have paid them over these years to do this, to be against us. I do not see how they can’t see that as socialism.”
But city leaders expressed commitment to the project.
(Excerpt) Read more at theblaze.com ...
They’ve used the taxpayer money that I have paid them over these years to do this, to be against us. “
It’s always interesting to see the light bulb flicker on.
Well, that would be nice.
A no frills gas station isn’t a half bad idea for a private sector owner.
Gas, wiper fluid, oil, etc.
It shouldn’t be a problem for too long.
Being government owned and operated it will fail.
so at 5 or 6 cent per gallon, the taxpayer payoff would be about 187 years. +/-
so at 5 or 6 cent per gallon savings to the consumer, the taxpayer payoff would be about 187 years. +/-
I wonder if the city-owned gas station has an additional competitive edge over the privately owned stations by operating with an exemption from property taxes.
i am for private sector doig this, not gubmint with everyone tax dollars, since this is a service people hardly need the govt selling in.
“The city spent $200,000 to purchase the fuel storage facility a few years ago, the AP reported, and shelled out another $75,000 to convert the facility into a retail operation.”
Also ongoing maintenance, staffing, upkeep.
Saving drivers a few bucks while taking their wallets.
Yes - the people using this place are actually losing money on the deal yet think they aren’t paying as much.
We have one like that locally. Costco. Nothing but gasoline at their station. It’s always at least a nickel a gallon cheaper than anywhere else. An with as many miles as I put on the membership more than pays for itself.
A co-op might be able to pull something like this off.
You obviously know nothing about the independent gasoline business.
They don't make anything on the gas. They are a hostage to the big oil companies that supply them the gas.
They make their profit selling soda and snacks, pretty much like movie theaters, who don't make anything on the movie because it all goes to the distributors.
Yeah, there’s one of those stations right along my home-to-office travel route. Unfortunately, Costco is a big donor to the political left.
They are all no doubt public employees, unionized probably, with big fat pensions. For sitting there watching people pump their own gas.
If a local town does the business, no one is forced to buy or sell there, and the people, who are close to their government, agree to it - then so what?
Its far different from the Federal Government, who are unaccountable and use coercion, doing such things - THAT is socialism.
Selling the stuff in the convenience store is what keeps most operators in business. They can’t make it onfuel sales alone.
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