An Open Letter to Brookfield Residents About Tasse Fuel’s Propane Storage Proposal
Dear Brookfield Neighbors,
On March 4, 2020, the Brookfield Planning Board will vote to consider Tasse Fuel’s request for a special permit to install two propane storage tanks on our property at 14 Post Road, formerly occupied by Brookfield Motors.
Since our initial filing on July 3, 2019, the Planning Board has taken up this proposal at eleven separate meetings including public hearings to seek community input on our request. In keeping with our long-standing record as a responsible business and community partner, we have done our best to respond to any questions and concerns about the project.
I am writing this letter so all residents of Brookfield will have factual information about what this project entails.
About Tasse Fuel
Tasse Fuel is a third generation, family-owned Southbridge business that has been providing heating fuels, propane, plumbing, heating, ventilation, air conditioning, remodeling, and new installation services to south-central Massachusetts and north-central Connecticut since 1946. In 2017, we welcomed Crowley Fuel of North Brookfield to the Tasse Fuel family, serving central Massachusetts, including the Brookfields, Gilbertville, Hardwick, New Braintree, Oakham, Rutland, Fiskdale, Sturbridge, Ware, Warren, West Warren, Leicester, Spencer, and Charlton, MA. Our primary oil storage facilities are located in Southbridge and North Brookfield.
Purchasing the Property
In March, 2019, I became aware that the former Brookfield Motors Post Road property was on the market and decided it would make an ideal site to create a new home for our combined Tasse Fuel operations. Before making an offer on the property, however, we did our homework to make certain we would be able to use the property for our intended purpose: to store propane and fuel pellets for later distribution to our customers.
I attended a meeting of the Brookfield Planning Board on June 5, 2019 where I expressed interest in purchasing the property, explained our intended uses for the property, and inquired about any zoning restrictions. According to the minutes of that meeting, the board chair “reviewed the Zoning Bylaw Use Table, noting that this property is located in a Business A district and the business falls under the Retail Sales and Services category for bulk fuel storage, requiring a Special Permit.”
Saying that I did “not want to go through the process if the Board has a problem with the business going in on the site,” and being assured that “Board members present expressed no objections to the proposal at this time,” I agreed to submit the special permit application and related documents to the Board at its July 3 meeting and proceeded to complete a purchase and sale agreement on the property.
20 Facts About the Proposed Operation
We look forward to receiving final approval for our special permit at the meeting of the Brookfield Planning Board on March 4. If you would like to show your support for our proposal, I invite you to attend the hearing, which is scheduled to begin at 6:45 p.m. at the Brookfield Town Hall at 6 Central Street. All of us at Tasse Fuel thank you for your continued support and we look forward to being a good neighbor to the Brookfield community for many years to come.
Best regards,
Jeff Tasse, President
Tasse Fuel
https://www.tasses.com/
https://www.crowleyfuel.com/
Dear Brookfield Neighbors,
On March 4, 2020, the Brookfield Planning Board will vote to consider Tasse Fuel’s request for a special permit to install two propane storage tanks on our property at 14 Post Road, formerly occupied by Brookfield Motors.
Since our initial filing on July 3, 2019, the Planning Board has taken up this proposal at eleven separate meetings including public hearings to seek community input on our request. In keeping with our long-standing record as a responsible business and community partner, we have done our best to respond to any questions and concerns about the project.
I am writing this letter so all residents of Brookfield will have factual information about what this project entails.
About Tasse Fuel
Tasse Fuel is a third generation, family-owned Southbridge business that has been providing heating fuels, propane, plumbing, heating, ventilation, air conditioning, remodeling, and new installation services to south-central Massachusetts and north-central Connecticut since 1946. In 2017, we welcomed Crowley Fuel of North Brookfield to the Tasse Fuel family, serving central Massachusetts, including the Brookfields, Gilbertville, Hardwick, New Braintree, Oakham, Rutland, Fiskdale, Sturbridge, Ware, Warren, West Warren, Leicester, Spencer, and Charlton, MA. Our primary oil storage facilities are located in Southbridge and North Brookfield.
Purchasing the Property
In March, 2019, I became aware that the former Brookfield Motors Post Road property was on the market and decided it would make an ideal site to create a new home for our combined Tasse Fuel operations. Before making an offer on the property, however, we did our homework to make certain we would be able to use the property for our intended purpose: to store propane and fuel pellets for later distribution to our customers.
I attended a meeting of the Brookfield Planning Board on June 5, 2019 where I expressed interest in purchasing the property, explained our intended uses for the property, and inquired about any zoning restrictions. According to the minutes of that meeting, the board chair “reviewed the Zoning Bylaw Use Table, noting that this property is located in a Business A district and the business falls under the Retail Sales and Services category for bulk fuel storage, requiring a Special Permit.”
Saying that I did “not want to go through the process if the Board has a problem with the business going in on the site,” and being assured that “Board members present expressed no objections to the proposal at this time,” I agreed to submit the special permit application and related documents to the Board at its July 3 meeting and proceeded to complete a purchase and sale agreement on the property.
20 Facts About the Proposed Operation
- Tasse Fuel proposes to install two (2) 30,000 gallon propane storage tanks. According to State Fire Codes, we are only permitted to fill the vessels to 80% capacity, or 24,000 gallons, for a total storage capacity of 48,000 gallons.
- In addition, Tasse Fuel sought permission to store fuel pellets on site starting in about two years. Pellet sales will be seasonal and infrequent.
- We intend to eventually combine the North Brookfield and Southbridge office and customer service staffs at this location. Except for emergency deliveries, our regular business hours will be Monday through Friday 7 a.m. – 6 p.m. Our oil distribution depots and trucks will remain permanently in Southbridge and North Brookfield.
- The new facility will operate under the direct supervision of Red Beaton, a highly qualified Tasse staff member with close to 30 years of experience working in the propane industry.
- Upon completion of the project, Tasse Fuel will become a major taxpayer in town. Total tax revenue to the Town of Brookfield for property and excise taxes (storage tanks are also taxable) is projected to be up to $25,000 per year.
- We maintain a fleet of about 40 vehicles, many of which will find their way onto the Brookfield tax rolls, but because Tasse employees take their vehicles home at night, most will not be stored on the property.
- This propane storage installation is permitted by the Brookfield Zoning By-laws with a special permit.
- The Massachusetts State Fire Marshal’s Office has approved the design for the original location, which identifies an installation site adjacent to the right of the building, facing Route 9 and away from Maple Street residences.
- The Brookfield Board of Selectmen has approved a storage license for bulk storage of 60,000 gallons.
- The Brookfield Fire Department has reviewed the initial Route 9 design of the project and has expressed no concerns about the safety of that installation.
- The Brookfield Police Department has expressed no concerns about the safety of the installation.
- To address safety concerns, Tasse Fuel engaged internationally-recognized safety consultant Theodore C. Lemoff, P.E. to testify to the safety of the proposed operation. A registered professional engineer with 35 years of experience with propane and other flammable gases, Lemoff helped write the Liquefied Petroleum Gas Code known as NFPA-58. Commonly accepted as the American standard for propane storage, NFPA-85 is published by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) and has been adopted as law in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
- In his report, Lemoff concluded that the parallel orientation of the storage tanks to Route 9 “is an excellent location for the tanks as it allows the propane trucks to enter and exit the plant directly onto Route 9, and not on residential streets.”
- As part of the approval process, we have also submitted a Fire Safety Analysis prepared by Web Engineering Associates of North Scituate, MA that addresses the following: effectiveness of control measures; local conditions of hazard within the facility; exposure to off-site properties and populations; the impact of neighboring activities to the facility; requirements for and availability of adequate water supply; full compliance with code requirements; and evaluation of the capabilities of local emergency response.
- Cameras and motion detectors have been installed on the property for safety purposes.
- Following completion of a 21e environmental site assessment that identified problem areas, Tasse Fuel has already invested more than $150,000 in environmental clean-up costs, and removed about 300 yards of contaminated material from the site.
- Tasse Fuel has responded to every request made by the Brookfield Planning Board throughout this 8-month process. In order to ensure community input as required by law, we also paid an initial $250 permit fee and we have three times paid a fee of $104 for postage to notify abutters of the hearings to consider this application.
- At the Town’s request, we disconnected a water supply from 13 Maple Street that was previously attached to the property. We have applied for a new water line permit, and our new septic system plan has been approved, both with an estimated cost of about $40,000.
- We are working with Babe’s Lawn Care on natural screening around the tank site and plantings to beautify the property. We want our community to be proud of what we create at this very central location.
- In an effort to be responsive to Planning Board suggestions, Tasse recently offered a second site plan option that moves the tanks to the back of the property, drawing objections from some Maple Street abutters. While we are committed to not using residential streets to access the tanks under either scenario, we still believe the original Route 9 site is best for Tasse Fuel, our neighbors and the Town.
We look forward to receiving final approval for our special permit at the meeting of the Brookfield Planning Board on March 4. If you would like to show your support for our proposal, I invite you to attend the hearing, which is scheduled to begin at 6:45 p.m. at the Brookfield Town Hall at 6 Central Street. All of us at Tasse Fuel thank you for your continued support and we look forward to being a good neighbor to the Brookfield community for many years to come.
Best regards,
Jeff Tasse, President
Tasse Fuel
https://www.tasses.com/
https://www.crowleyfuel.com/