To the Editor:
In response to Kate Kennedy’s letter last week, “No tears for Airport Mobil,” perhaps she should consider the following. Mike Rotondo was treated totally unfairly. Despite the fact that his bid was not the highest, neither was Depot’s. Aside from that, he had better financials and experience, and in addition, the bidding process violated a number of the Airport Commission’s own rules.
Mike was forced to sell his business of 20 years or demolish the station. He apparently was offered only pennies on the dollar for the equipment by Depot, and thus chose demolition. As far as his prices, it’s probable that the higher gas prices were a consequence of the rent he paid to the Airport Commission. Now that there is one less station in the area, we’ll see how Depot’s prices change.
Furthermore, I’m not sure where you get an oil change for $20, but if it were my car, I would be concerned about what I was getting. I don’t know how much Mike made on the station in 20 years, and I suspect neither does Ms. Kennedy. But I’m quite sure that he earned every penny with hard work and long hours. Maybe we shouldn’t shed any tears for a closed gas station, but we should shed tears for the offense to humanity shown by the Airport Commission. There is a barren piece of land where a thriving business once stood — my hope is that it stays that way.
Ted Jochsberger
West Tisbury
I’m also thinking Ms Kennedy didn’t get to Edgartown much. I’ve always found both gas stations in Edgartown to be 8 to 10 cents a gallon more The anywhere else on island, including Airport Mobil. And one of them is self serve for cripes sake….