The City of Vicksburg might skip on saving about $8,000 in annual fuel costs if officials decide to stick with the provider used for nearly 20 years.

The Board of Mayor and Aldermen agreed Monday to table until the April 4 meeting action on awarding a bid to either long time carrier Fuel Man or The Pantry Inc., which operates nine Kangaroo stores in the city. The city has used Fuel Man, which operates pumps at 29 sites in the city and also contracts with the state, for about 20 years.

“If we were to change course and go with Kangaroo, what would be the dynamics if we were trying to refuel somewhere?” Mayor Paul Winfield asked. “Those types of things need to be discussed, and I would feel uncomfortable taking a vote right now without having those answers.”

An eight-person fuel committee, led by city purchasing director Tim Smith, was formed in January to weigh the bids.

On Monday, members recommended staying with Fuel Man, even though The Pantry offers to save the city $8,199 annually in service fees, which are tacked on top of the wholesale fuel prices governments are charged.

Wholesale fuel prices typically are about a quarter less than what the general public pays, Smith said, adding that the city spends about $750,000 annually on fuel.

“Our job was to pick the best and lowest bid,” Smith said. “We would like to stay with Fuel Man.”

The committee contends The Pantry’s locations, primarily along Interstate 20 and U.S. 61 South, would make purchases costly and inconvenient for city vehicles assigned to the city’s north ward, Smith said. Fuel Man locations are spread across the city’s 30-mile radius, he said.

Those city vehicles would have to drive extra miles to fuel up, he added. “Is that worth the savings to the city?” he asked.

The study also found that 28 of the 70 cities and towns visited by the Vicksburg Police Department and 13 of the 25 locations visited by the Vicksburg Fire Department had no Kangaroo station.

“That could be a potential problem,” Smith said for the two main departments that use a majority of the city’s nearly 350 vehicles.

Fuel Man guarantees service in at least one station in each county across the state, as well as service in at least 35,000 locations nationwide.

The switch to The Pantry could also mean the loss of two local bulk suppliers — Waring Oil Company and Hill City Oil Company — since they contract with a supplier from Louisiana.

“The two local bulk fuel companies will lose those sales from the local government,” Smith said.

The committee also considered the loss of revenue by about 20 Vicksburg store owners who accept Fuel Man cards.

In addition to Smith and Barry Warnock, the city’s maintenance supervisor, the committee includes Vicksburg police Deputy Chiefs Mitchell Dent and John Dolan, Vicksburg Deputy Fire Chiefs Kenneth Daniels and Mark Hales, public works director Bubba Rainer and city engineer Garnet Van Norman.

In other business, the board granted a stay of demolition to the property at 1500 East Ave., which is owned by former Vicksburg resident Abraham Lincoln Fowler, who lives and operates a business in Monroe.

The three-story, antebellum-looking home built on about four acres in 1968 has been cited for numerous aesthetic violations during the past few years.

Fowler said he rents the property and lives there part-time. The property could be removed from the city’s demolition list if a resolution is found by city officials, Fowler and his lawyer, who are scheduled to meet Monday.