Commercial fuel sales could soon return to Yellow Pine after several years with the nearest fuel pumps hours away in McCall and Cascade.
An application to establish an above-ground gas tank connected to a fuel pump in the eastern Valley County village has been submitted to the Valley County Planning and Zoning Commission.
A public hearing on the proposal will be held at 6 p.m. on Nov. 13 at the Valley County Courthouse in Cascade. Public comments can also be submitted in advance through Nov. 5 at 5 p.m.
The fuel station would be located at 320 Yellow Pine Ave. along the main street through the village of about 32 year-round residents, per the 2020 United States Census.
The property, as well as the Yellow Pine Tavern next door, are owned by Brad Bell, who also is the president of Connell Oil, a Pasco, Washington, company.
Connell would operate and maintain the gas tank and pump, which would take about three months to bring online if the P&Z approves the application.
Regular non-ethanol gas, premium non-ethanol gas, and road diesel fuel would be offered at the pump. A credit card reader on the pump would make fuel sales available around the clock.
The number of gallons the fuel tank would hold was not yet available, Bell said. The tank will be fenced in and lit with “low impact lighting,” according to the application.
Commercial fuel sales have not been available in Yellow Pine for several years. That, along with the recent approval of Perpetua Resources’ Stibnite mine, made the timing right to bring it back, Bell said.
“I spent time in Yellowpine last week and the community is desperately asking me when I can have a fuel facility up and running,” Bell wrote in an Oct. 8 letter attached to his application.
That sentiment was confirmed by Adam Pellegrini, a Yellow Pine resident who founded and operates the Yellow Pine Chamber of Commerce. A social media post by Pellegrini about the proposal had drawn more than 80 comments as of Tuesday afternoon — nearly all of which were in favor of the gas station.
“Everyone, at least that has posted about it, is extremely excited,” he said.
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Local reliance
For Pellegrini, commercial fuel sales are key to the economic vitality of Yellow Pine as well as the health and safety of its residents.
Power outages are not uncommon in Yellow Pine, so residents often rely on generators to heat their homes, run appliances, and even for medical treatments.
“We have seniors up here that are on dialysis, CPAP machines, all of this medical equipment,” Pellegrini said. “We live off of generators.”
Many residents rely on personal fuel tanks installed on their properties, but that system still requires regular fuel deliveries. Connell now offers that service, but Pellegrini said there have been years when local residents have been forced to arrange refills on their own accord.
Economic benefit
Meanwhile, some tourists choose to avoid Yellow Pine because of the lack of fuel sales, costing local businesses that often operate on slim margins.
In recent years, Yellow Pine has become a destination stop for adventure motorcyclists who take multi-day trips through the backcountry while trying to avoid pavement. It also draws thousands each summer for the annual Yellow Pine Harmonica Festival.
“Year-round tourism, be it snowmobiling, be it ridings motorcycles or UTVs, that is the lifeblood of a town like Yellow Pine,” Pellegrini said. “If we have the stigma of having no fuel, then we lose those tourists coming to the town that feed into other things, like our restaurants and our events.”
Historic roots
While commercial fuel sales have not been available in Yellow Pine recently, such operations have had a history in the village for decades, including on the site proposed by Connell.
A large above-ground fuel tank attached to a fuel pump located near the site was decommissioned roughly five years ago, according to Bell.
The Yellow Pine General Store continued to offer fuel from an above-ground tank that remains in place today, but the store has been closed for two years, Pellegrini said.
Yellow Pine has also seen more traditional gas stations, including a Sinclair station that operated in the village through the 1980s. An undated photo in The Yellow Pine Times also shows a Phillips 66 gas station in the village.
The big difference between every previous iteration of commercial fuel sales in Yellow Pine and Connell’s current proposal, Pellegrini said, is credit card readers that allow around the clock access without needing someone to come unlock the pump.
“This idea that you can be in Yellow Pine and get in at nine o’clock at night, take out your card, tap it and fill up your tank…it’s unheard of in Yellow Pine,” he said.
