Ferron City hosts public meeting on future of gas station

By Danyale Service

The Ferron City Council was approached by a citizen willing to build a gas station in the city. Ferron City owns a piece of property close to .8 acres for economic development. This property belongs to the citizens, so the council members held a public hearing to hear directly from the citizens. Each citizen had the opportunity to speak for two minutes and could only speak once.
Justin Snow who is planning on building the gas station began the discussion. “It has been quite an adventure,” he started. “Thanks for the support. We didn’t do this as a have to, we live here.” Justin is planning on building an independent gas station that would not be connected to another brand. As of now, Justin Snow is ready to begin building, but the contract still has to be drawn up.
Dave Morgan, Kollette Cologie, Russ Mead, Robert Burke, Amy Deto, Sherrie Garrett, Mike Ross, Kristy Deto, Stephanie Reeve, Jared Snow, and several others all stood separately to express their support for Justin and a new gas station.
Gil Bowden, previous owner of Gilly’s, said he “supports Justin 100 percent” He warned the council about potential gas leaks that could happen to the new gas station. He continued the discussion by stating “Do not lease, have a clean sale. I’ll buy gas from him.”
If another business wants to open/reopen a gas station in Ferron the City Council has the right to pass an ordinance that would allow the city to not grant a license to another gas business for a certain time or until the population reaches a certain number. This would guarantee the success of a new gas station. “Everyone needs this to succeed,” said Mayor Adele Justice. “The city will support anyone who comes to this town.”
Jesse Jones who works in the Special Service District called the new gas station “a breath of fresh air.” Ronny Bloomer stated, “One hundred percent hats off to Justin. Two years without gas and finally someone stepped up. The city is growing. Tourism is growing. We live here for a reason. Why not bring in a little revenue. No gas will not grow this town. We need something to stabilize the economy. It is sad Justin is finding opposition. Anyone could have approached the city in two years. Gilly’s has to sit there and it is sad. Sold, leased, given shouldn’t matter. We need this. I hope everything works out.”
Randy Fox then concluded the public comments by saying “I’d like to see a gas station, but also a motel and restaurant. I support business in our town. A friend of mine who lived in Ferron said, ‘If you don’t get something going in Ferron it will be like Emery’ at least Emery got gas.”
The council then voted for a clause in the contract that if the gas station defaults then the property will be returned to the city and a clause that will defer payment for a period of time. A no compete clause is still under discussion and will come back to a city council meeting to discuss in the future.