Center Township approves propane transfer facility

NEPTUNE - Van Wert Propane Inc. plans to extend its service area further into Mercer and Auglaize counties by establishing a satellite facility on the site of the former Neptune Church of God at 7979 U.S. Route 33, Celina.

The Center Township Board of Zoning Appeals gave their blessing Wednesday night to Van Wert Propane Inc.'s request for a conditional-commercial-use permit to set up a propane refilling station on the former church grounds, zoned agriculture/residential (A1-R1).

About a dozen people showed up for the public hearing, including one property owner who lives within 200 feet of the former church grounds. No one voiced any objections to the family-owned propane company's proposal.

With the permit now secured, Van Wert Propane plans to purchase the property at 7979 U.S. Route 33 owned by WCOE LLC, whose agent/registrant is listed as Leslie Townsend of Celina on the Ohio Secretary of State's website.

However, Travis Knittle, the propane company's third-generation operator, said it may take some time before he's able to acquire a pair of 30,000-gallon propane storage tanks for the station.

"It might take a year before I can get one that's in the relative vicinity. To get a new one built, it takes years," he said. "We'll start working on this - like make the property nicer - right away once we get it, but I don't have these tanks just sitting around that big. So I have to go out and try to find them and buy them and then getting the permitting to bring it here."

For over 60 years, Van Wert Propane has served residential, commercial, industrial and agricultural customers. It has locations in Van Wert and Fort Jennings, Knittle pointed out.

The Neptune station would serve as a bulk storage and distribution point, specifically designed for the efficient loading of bobtail delivery trucks, according to a proposal submitted by Travis Knittle's son, Evan Knittle.

"Mainly it's just to put a couple storage tanks there that we can use to … go a little bit farther in our territory, cover maybe St. Marys, maybe a little farther south," Travis Knittle told board members. "Basically, it's a satellite location just to refill our bobtail (delivery trucks)."

Equipped with state-of-the-art safety systems meeting federal, state, local and industry regulations, the station would serve as a bobtail refill site only, with no retail sales, cylinder filling or customer foot-traffic occurring on the premises, the proposal states.

Outside of scheduled bobtail loading and driver breaks, the facility would reportedly be unstaffed.

"Propane will be delivered to the site by transport trucks and offloaded into the bulk tanks, with product then dispensed solely into company-operated bobtail delivery vehicles for distribution in the surrounding service area," the proposal states.

Travis Knittle said the church building would be maintained as a break area for delivery drivers.

"When they come into load, it's usually at lunchtime, so (it'll) give them a place to come in, a restroom and a kitchen," he said. "We would keep the church nice."

Installation of the station would reportedly include full containment and crash protection systems, emergency shutoff valves, fire extinguishers and spill response kits.

"The tank's real thick compared to like a gasoline tank," said Travis Knittle when asked about safety concerns. "These are real thick steel. … They are very, very safe."

Evan Knittle also spoke of the company's commitment to maintaining the appearance of the station.

"It'd be good for advertising, too, in this area, so the benefit of that would be we want to keep it very nice, just like we keep our other two locations, and visually appealing," he said. "We don't want you guys to think it's going to be abandoned rusty tanks."

Before signing off on the request, board members attached a pair of conditions to the conditional use permit - that the visibility of the road be maintained and that security barriers be erected as directed by the company's insurance company.