Committee addresses gas pumps at Safeway

Members weigh free market, protection of small businesses

As part of Chevy Chase-based builder JBG Rosenfeld’s plans to demolish and rebuild the shopping center, Safeway wants to install six roadside fuel pumps with discounted gas for some customers. Gas would be three-and-a-half cents off with a Safeway card but other promotions can offer a discount of up to 20 cents, said Renee Montgomery, a Safeway spokeswoman.

Neighboring Bowie Shell owner Ron Ciuffetelli said at an April 3 City Council meeting that he fears he will be put out of business if Safeway goes through with the plans, and has rallied community support to oppose the gas pump addition. At the same meeting, about 15 residents and fellow gas station owners spoke out in support of Ciuffetelli.

Safeway representatives argue there is a need for additional gas stations in the area and the company is only trying to offer an additional service for its customers. However, Ciuffetelli said there are eight competing gas stations within a two-mile radius of his store.

In its preliminary discussion, several EDC members, including newly nominated chairman Boyd Campbell, voiced support for letting a free market prevail.

‘‘Competition and choice is good for business,” Campbell said.

EDC secretary Al Golato also said it was not EDC’s place to interfere with private enterprise. The committee won’t issue an opinion on the matter until after its September meeting, when members hope to hear from Safeway representatives, JBG and competing business owners like Ciuffetelli.

‘‘The sooner you get in on the process the better,” said County Councilwoman Ingrid Turner (D-Dist. 4) of Bowie at the meeting. ‘‘[From] a business aspect this is the time to say to Safeway what the business model should be.”

The developers need a special exception from the county planning board to install the pumps and are expected to submit design plans sometime in the fall, said Bowie Economic Development Director John Henry King.

With the EDC’s involvement in jump-starting the business incubator program, which would offer resources to small businesses, member Joan Pitkin asked where the committee should draw the line in terms of aiding small businesses.

‘‘We’re talking about incubators and getting small businesses started, but are we protecting the small business versus the corporate entities?” Pitkin said.

In the time since the public discussion of Safeway’s plans in April, Ciuffetelli said his gas sale profits have plummeted further due to a decline in business and the fees he has to pay to credit card companies for their use.

‘‘The zone pricing is really affecting us,” he said of the different price zones which dictate how much suppliers charge retailers. ‘‘In Laurel they are down to $3.99 and I’m paying eight cents more than they are even selling it for.”

The EDC’s next meeting is scheduled for Sept. 17.