Sheriff, deputies to reuse old tank for fuel, potentially saving 50 cents per gallon

The Ozark County Sheriff’s Department is currently working toward repairing and reusing a large, 500-gallon gasoline tank on the jail property to dispense fuel to officers’ patrol vehicles. 

The tank was last used in 2012 when officers transitioned from using the OCSD tank to instead filling their vehicles’ fuel tanks at local gas stations. 

Ozark County Sheriff Cass Martin, who was at this week’s commissioners’ meeting to discuss the project, said he’d like to transition back to a policy where all the deputies’ gasoline comes from the large tank, which can be filled with fuel that is purchased in bulk for about 50 cents per gallon less than what local gas stations sell it for. 

OCSD administrative assistant Curtis Ledbetter, who was at the meeting too, said he thought the sheriff’s department probably used close to 400 to 500 gallons of gas a week, possibly equating to a savings of $800 to $1,000 a month.

Martin said that, years ago, when the tank was last used, the department had Ford Crown Victorias as patrol vehicles. The upside to those vehicles was that they got relatively good fuel mileage, but the downside was that “we tore those things up going up and down the county roads around here,” Martin said.

Now the OCSD instead runs high-clearance trucks or SUVs. 

Recently Martin and others borrowed equipment form the Gainesville Volunteer Fire Department to clean out the tank, which has sat empty for about nine years. The commissioners and OCSD had worried that the tank would be in bad condition after all these years, but Martin says it’s surprisingly well kept.

“We turned on the water and flushed out the tank. We put vinegar in it, cleaned it out. Everything is working as it should be. I have to buy a new handle for the pump. Other than that, it’s fine,” he said. “The pump works. The only thing that doesn’t work is the nozzle. It was busted and rusted over. But I had taken that nozzle off, turned on the water and it was flowing. We need to get some new filters for the pump. Other than that, we’re good.”

Western District Commissioner Layne Nance said he’d recommend that when the OCSD is ready to purchase a new tank that they may look at upgrading to a tank that holds about twice as much as they need per week. Nance said he based his suggestion on the fact that bulk pricing is generally for 1,000 gallons at a time, and during the winter there are some weeks when gasoline isn’t delivered because the business that distributes the gas also distributes propane.

“That’s their bread and butter. They’ll tell you. So sometimes it may be two weeks before you get filled up,” Nance said, adding that he’d given Acting Chief Sheriff’s Deputy John Russo a copy of the most recent prices for a new tank, but the prices are fluctuating. 

“Those are from Mid-South Steel for a non-UL tank. That’s just your tank for personal use. You can’t sell gas from it, is what the UL means,” Nance clarified. “But those prices aren’t set in stone. [The sales rep] said that pricing is just for a few days. He said when you get right down to the brass tacks of it, call me and I’ll give you a good quote, but I’ll need you to order within a few days, because steel’s going up everyday.”

The other issue is that new tanks take at least 18 months to 24 months after ordering to be delivered.