Chelsea Station Filling Need

You can't call it a service station. You can't call it a convenience store. You can, however, call it innovative and a sign that oft-flooded Chelsea is still plugging along.

The new Chelsea Station, opened last October, is simply a place to fill up with unleaded or diesel fuel. (It doesn't have gasohol.) You must slip a credit card or a debit card into a reader to pay for your purchase because nobody tends the station. The 4,000-square foot building is empty, although it's available if someone wants to open a store in it. (See today's Ramblin' column in The Gazette.)

Chelsea Station was the brainchild of Roger Ochs, mayor since 1996. The community lost its last fuel pumps after the Flood of 2008 washed across the community. That wasn't nearly as bad as the Flood of 1993 when folks talked about moving the town to higher ground and the community's last service station closed. But, it was enough to make outsiders wonder what might happen to Chelsea.

Well, everything's going fine, if not swimmingly, Roger says. The folks who remained after the 1993 flood -- Chelsea has 287 residents now -- aren't going anywhere. They've fixed up their homes, some even raising them to avoid water damage if and when nearby Otter Creek flows out of its banks again. And, having to drive the 7 miles to Belle Plaine or the 12 miles to Tama to fuel up just wasn't convenient for them.

So, Roger approached the town council, suggesting the city buy the former convenience store. That was secured with $18,000 in state flood recovery funds. The council also borrowed another $34,000 to repair the pumps, install a new fuse panel, paint the building, pour a concrete drive, buy a sign, etc.

The object isn't to make money, Roger is quick to say. The fuel sells for about 10 cents a gallon more than in adjacent communities only because it costs more to have it in town. And, for the convenience, whether you need fuel for your car or lawnmower, an extra dime per gallon is a small price to pay.

"My main object," Roger says, "was to get fuel back in town.

"The diesel is handy for the trucks that are in town and run out of fuel," he adds. "It's an advantage for our city vehicles."

The station isn't going to make any money. Roger just hopes it generates enough income to keep the underground storage tanks full and to pay for any necessary upkeep in the years to come.

"This summer will be the test," he adds, what with more people getting out and traffic passing through Chelsea on the way to fun in the sun and on the water at Holiday Lake.

"Our whole objective, when the convenience store went out of business. Well, it was a real pain to get gas in town. This is for the convenience of everybody."