LA PALMA : City Cars Will Get Fill-Ups in Cypress

When official city vehicles need gasoline in the future, they will be driven next door, into Cypress, for a fill-up.

The City Council unanimously voted last week to buy gasoline from the Cypress city pumps. La Palma city staffers said the action will save taxpayers five cents on every gallon of gasoline, compared to the cost at commercial outlets.

Ismile H. Noorbaksh, La Palma’s public works director, told the City Council that the city had purchased gasoline before from Cypress for about 16 years.

But that ended about two years ago when Cypress had to replace its tanks under a requirement of the Air Quality Management District, Noorbaksh said.

He added that Cypress’s fuel facility has now reopened and Cypress proposed a new sale agreement with La Palma.

The pact stipulates that La Palma pay Cypress 10 cents a gallon for insurance costs and another 13 cents per gallon as an administrative charge. La Palma’s total cost per gallon under the agreement is $1.10, compared to $1.15 at commercial stations, Noorbaksh said.

In response to a question from Councilman Larry A. Herman, city staffers said that the La Palma police vehicles are the city’s major gasoline consumers. Staffers added that only officially identified, La Palma-owned vehicles can purchase from the Cypress pumps.

The gasoline agreement with Cypress can be terminated with a 30 days’ notice, Noorbaksh said.