South Petaluma truck stop to be transformed

<p>PETALUMA – Royal Petroleum Co. plans to start construction this spring on a yearlong transformation of the Haynie Fuel Service and former Rinehart Truck Stop at the city's southern entrance, turning the site into a high-tech commercial fueling station.</p><p>Planning for a new Petaluma Boulevard South interchange on Highway 101 and redevelopment of south Petaluma sites such as Petaluma Quarry has delayed Royal's overhaul of the 45-year-old truck stop for more than three years, according to Jim Dalton, president of Santa Rosa-based Royal. However, Royal now has the necessary project approvals and is securing financing to put the project out to bid shortly for construction to begin in mid-April.</p><p>Designed by RHL Design Group in Petaluma, the project will include remodeling the former Zola's Cafe as a sales office, demolishing the adjoining Haynie Fuel Service commercial fueling station, building covered gasoline and diesel cardlock pump islands, upgrading the truck scale and installing a covered off-road-grade diesel loading rack for fuel trucks. </p><p>Pumps at a cardlock station require credit-card-shaped keys to operate, giving companies control over fuel usage. Currently, a third of Royal's revenue comes from its four existing cardlock stations in Santa Rosa, Sonoma and the Haynie station in Petaluma. </p><p>Mr. Dalton foresees cardlocks will become a larger part of Royal's business as fewer companies will want to have fuel delivered to their underground or surface tanks as environmental regulations tighten. Underground gasoline tank rules for double-walled tanks and monitoring systems put many independent stations out of business in the past two decades, and new state mandates apply vapor-recovery rules for below-ground tanks to those above ground.</p><h3>Builders looking for biodiesel</h3> <p>Mr. Dalton is also hearing from the major construction companies he supplies with bulk fuel of their interest in switching en masse this spring to a mixture of 5 percent to 30 percent biodiesel to limit soot from tractors and equipment as new rules for off-road pollution abatement loom. Thirty percent is the highest concentration commercial equipment engine companies will allow under warranties. </p><p>At current prices of $3.24 a gallon for biodiesel and $2.84 for No. 2 diesel, a 5 percent blend would cost $2.86 and a 30 percent $2.96. Royal is working with its construction clients to find a biodiesel blend price they are willing to pay, Mr. Dalton said.</p><p>On the gasoline side, he's looking into the E-85 ethanol blend.</p><p>Haynie had operated the Texaco station there since the 1950s. Royal took over operation of the station in 1986 under a partnership with property owner Ed Souza because of the site's easy access to Highway 101. Royal switched the station to the Commercial Fueling Network about 10 years ago.</p><p>A failing septic system led to the closure of the cafe about five years ago. To maximize space on the site for truck access and fueling, the new facility won't have a cafe or space for trucks to park overnight.</p><p>"It's sad for the trucking industry, but we won't have the space and the cost of land is too high," Mr. Dalton said.</p><h3>Electric bill was $1,200, now $12</h3> <p>Like the cardlock station Royal opened near the Charles M. Schulz–Sonoma County Airport a year ago, the Petaluma facility will have photovoltaic panels on top of the large pump-island canopies. The array at the airport station has cut the electric bill for that location from $1,200 a month to $12, Mr. Dalton said.</p><p>The new station also will have the new Internet-based station management system from the CFN, according to Rebecca Chapman, director of marketing and cardlock operations. Royal installed the system at Royal's Todd Road and airport stations in late January. The Internet-based system allows her and other managers to be notified by phone or e-mail of problem pumps that need resetting, monitor fuel deliveries and tank inventory by fuel type and to track fraudulent card usage, all in real time. </p><p>Royal had been using a satellite data link to beam each transaction to the CFN data center on the East Coast and receive a paper log of the transaction at Royal's office. </p><p>Already, the Internet-based system has allowed Royal to reset pumps immediately instead of having to wait hours for a customer to report problem and be warned of use of a stolen card in time to capture video evidence for police, Ms. Chapman noted. The next step is to link the cameras to the system to automatically train lenses on the pump where a canceled card is being used.</p><p>For more information, call 707-540-0044 or visit www.royalpetroleum.com.</p>