Business to give up permit fight

Date: 6/20/2012

June 20, 2012

By Debbie Gardner

debbieg@thereminder.com

WESTFIELD — Does Westfield make it too tough for businesses to get the permits they need? A local fuel supplier thinks so.

He has had enough of trying to get a propane storage permit approved, and said he will be relocating his business to South Hadley.

At Large City Councilor John Beltrande III told Reminder Publications he recently received a phone call from Stephen Chase, president and owner of Fuel Services, located at 962 Southampton Road, indicating he intends to withdraw his permit request before the council's June 21 meeting.

Beltrande said Chase has indicated he now intends to "relocate his trucks and sell the property" rather than continue the permit process.

"He just feels he has been dealing with this permit issue for over a year," Beltrande said. "If he has been trying to get that permit for over a year I can understand [his frustration]."

Fuel Services propane permit request, which finally made it on to the City Council agenda on May 17, subsequently became mired in questions when several councilors asked about oil spillage from the company's other products, and potential impact to the aquifer on which the business sits.

Because of these questions — and a misunderstanding regarding representation on Fuel Services' part that led to Chase not attending the June 7 meeting — the public hearing on the permit has been continued twice.

"It's not part of the permit," Beltrande said of the questions about environmental impact on the aquifer. "The application before us is for a propane permit, nothing else."

Beltrande said Fuel Services registers as many as 33 vehicles in Westfield, meaning the city stands to lose between $20,000 and $30,000 per year in excise tax when the business moves, not to mention the ancillary spending his employees do in shops and restaurants in the neighborhood near the business.

Chase said it has been an "interesting experience" trying to get a permit to store propane at his Southampton Road facility approved.

"It really should have been very straightforward. We fall under national fire codes," Chase said.

He added he was "very surprised" that the process had taken as long as it did.

"We had submitted it originally [in June 2011] and they said [the permit application] was lost. Until I received word that there would be a public hearing we had no word [about its progress]," Chase said.

His business, Fuel Services has been located in Westfield since 1989. It moved to the Southampton Road site in 2001. Fuel Services also maintains a location in South Hadley.

"We're one of the few companies that pulls a permit for every [installation] job," Chase noted. "The Fire Department knows where every single propane tank is [in town]. We try to do everything by the book."

Chase said once he had secured the propane storage permit for his Southampton Road facility, his plans were to purchase a larger location in South Hadley and move the businesses' fuel oil trucks — currently stored in Westfield — to that location and convert the Westfield site to propane storage.

He put a "For Sale" sign on the South Hadley location and "within three days, the [South Hadley] town planner was on the phone wanting to know what he could do for us to [retain] the business," Chase said. Told Chase was looking for a location for his propane business, the man quickly located a new site "and had gone to town agencies to solicit support" for his businesses' relocation.

"There's just a tremendous difference in attitude between South Hadley and Westfield," Chase said. "Westfield has done nothing but try to dictate what I had to do to stay [in business in town]."

Chase said he has decided to move his company to South Hadley, which means all 33 employees and 40-plus trucks and company vehicles will be leaving very soon.

"This building will be up for sale by the end of this week," Chase said on June 13. "I will be leaving Westfield and will be withdrawing my application from Westfield because I don't need it."

City Council President Christopher Keefe said the council is still trying to get the "full story" regarding Fuel Services permit situation.

He said he has been in touch with the department that would have processed the company's propane permit before it came before the City council.

"We're trying to find out why the signoffs are from June of last year, " Keefe said. "We're hoping to hear from them."

He said the council is still hoping to hear from Chase, as a miscommunication led to him not appearing at the May 17 continuation of the public hearing."

He said he was aware that Chase is considering moving his business out of Westfield.

"That's his decision. I know the city advancement officer has been in touch with him and is trying to help him," Keefe said. "But that doesn't change the council's responsibility, which is whether or not it is a good idea to store propane on [the Southampton Road] site."

He added if Chase has decided to withdraw his application, as of June 13 "he hasn't let us know either way."

According to Keefe, "If there is a notice of withdrawal, we will act on it, if not we will go forward [with the public hearing]."