WEST, Texas — A speculated property location near the City of West is rumored to be a Love's Travel Stop — not only is the city not engaged in active talks with the gas station company; business owners believe it's a commodity that would draw people away from downtown.
Old Corner Drug Store owner Randy Niemeyer called West a "small" and "tight knit" community that thrives as a locally owned city and hopes if plans come to fruition that Love's will operate "respectfully" alongside other businesses in the city.
"From my understanding it's not going to infringe on any of the small, locally owned businesses, just the other gas stations," Niemeyer said. "As a pharmacy owner I don't see it as an issue because they can pick up those items at any gas station or a dollar store that shouldn't carry an impact to pharmacies."
Niemeyer said the potential location for the gas station would be on the "outskirts" of the city and he believes it would not function as an attraction that would draw visitors to the downtown area. But he believes, since it would sit outside the city limits, city leaders would have little say on if the gas station will come to fruition or not.
"I'm not a member of the city, the city council or the chamber of commerce but hopefully they can take advantage of some of the tax benefits there," Niemeyer said. "Maybe they can incorporate a small part of it there."
Though he doesn't view the potential gas station as a direct competitor to his business, he said diverting traffic away from downtown could hurt businesses located in the area's bottom lines.
"We have some very smart individuals on the city council, so I'm sure they'll put their heads together and do what's best for the city of West," Niemeyer said.
Nicole Nemac, a West business owner, said that she would be in favor of the project if the city would be able to benefit from the tax revenue but she said she has her own reservations about the project.
"I've heard rumors that there are concerns for crime, drugs and trafficking but our new police chief and our officers are outstanding and do an outstanding job to make West safe and I know they will ensure things stay that way," Nemac said in a statement to Six News.
Being that the potential location is outside the city limits Mayor David Pratka said the majority of "push back" on the Love's coming to West at the last few city council meetings have come from residents who live "next to the interstate and near the speculated property" but are "not citizens of West and are not represented by any elected officials within the city."
RELATED: Verify | Is Temple Mall closing?