The City of Bellflower supports the goal of clean air and a healthier environment through the reduction of air pollution from motor vehicles. To this end, the City partnered with the RF Dickson Co. Inc., the Bellflower School District, and the City of Lakewood to construct a public access heavy-duty compressed natural gas (CNG) station.
837585.00
Equipment specifications that met key project criteria were used to solicit an experienced CNG station contractor. Participants desired a turnkey station that would be managed and operated by Dickson. That prime contractor selected was Weaver Electric. Dickson was responsible for overall project management. City of Bellflower procurement procedures were used to obtain the three vehicles.
This project had two objectives: 1) to design, construct and operate a heavy-duty public access CNG station able to support a variety of natural gas vehicles including the Citys fleet, school buses, street sweepers, and other government vehicles that operate in the area, and 2) purchase three (3) Ford F-150 pick-up trucks with 5.4 L 235 hp CNG engines. The vehicles will replace three 1995 gasoline powered vehicles. The fueling station will be strategically located on property owned by the Bellflower Unified School District at 15330 South Woodruff Avenue, Bellflower, California. This location closes a gap for refueling heavy-duty CNG vehicles. Further, the station is the only high capacity station in Southern California with a 3,600 psi capability. The new vehicles have a life expectancy of 10 years. Annual mileage is estimated at 6,500 miles.
The station opened on October 23, 2002. Although the City was the contract lead, RF Dickson is the owner/operator of the station. Dickson has experienced several startup bugs with the station including computer system problems, dispenser failure, and a hard wire failure on the compressor. More information on the startup of the station can be found in the Final Report. Users of the station include the City of Bellflower, the City of Lakewood, R.F. Dickson (street sweepers), the Bellflower School District, and Express Shuttle. The station is equipped with a Multi-Force card billing system that allows the use of private company billing cards as well as the standard Visa/Mastercard-type credit cards. Dickson has also purchased a service truck equipped with CNG storage tanks to provide emergency remote fueling. The City took delivery of its CNG trucks on December 4, 2002 and places them into service on January 10, 2003.