By Kari Lucin, staff writer

Anyone refueling a boat in Fountain Lake must drive to a gas station, fill a container with gas, drive back to the lake and lug it to the boat. Pouring gas into the tank requires a steady hand, or the liquid sloshes into the lake.

All that could change with the $500 double-walled gas tank the Lakes Restoration Committee donated to the city of Albert Lea.

&8220;We&8217;ll probably save about 100 gallons of raw fuel going into our lake each year, and the convenience of people being able to fuel their boat on the lake is another plus,&8221; said Bruce Haugsdal of the Lakes Restoration Committee.

The city of Albert Lea has been working on the project since 2005, when it passed the resolution authorizing fueling facilities near the lakeshore.

The fuel station will be on Fountain Lake east of City Beach, on the dock behind the Albert Lea Skate Park.

City Manager Victoria Simonsen said she expected the matter of who will operate the station to go before the council at the end of September.

&8220;We do have a private party now that&8217;s interested in potentially operating that, and they&8217;re putting together an agreement to bring to council,&8221; Simonsen said.

Originally, the station was going to be near the channel. It was moved near the City Beach so that the manager of the station can also manage the concession stand or lease canoes there.

&8220;What makes this important is that the community has expressed their wish to have us become more of a destination, and to use our lakes more as recreational attractions,&8221; Simonsen said.

&8220;And I think this provides an opportunity for people who maybe don&8217;t live on the lake or own a boat to still have access to one, and it also improves convenience for those who do.&8221;

Costs to the city for the project have been negligable, according to Simonsen. A 3- by 4-foot pad of concrete will need to be laid down for the tank &8212; about the equivalent of two sections of sidewalk.

Simonsen has heard a few questions about the process. Some people are concerned with the proximity of the skate park and the beach to the tank. Others have wondered whether fireworks could be set off from their usual location across the lake if a gas station were there.

The estimated cost of the entire project is $8,000, including the cost of the concrete, the tank and running electricity out to the pump.

&8220;It&8217;s going to be a portable pump and tank so it can be taken out when the season&8217;s over,&8221; said Albert Lea-Freeborn County Chamber of Commrece Executive Director Susie Petersen.