When Love’s Travel Stops pulled plans to locate a sprawling truck stop next to the tiny Montana community of Ramsay at the 11th hour, it took most everyone but the company by surprise.
Many residents were vehemently against the project from the moment Love’s announced its plans in January 2017, saying the truck stop would bring traffic, noise, pollution, transients and crime to their quiet community of 40 houses in five square blocks off of Interstate 90 just west of Butte.
Residents tried to derail the project at every stage for five years but lost every regulatory and legal battle. They were down to appealing a Butte-Silver Bow Zoning Board ruling in state District Court, where judges in Montana typically give great deference to local zoning board decisions.
But with excavation work underway and what seemed like one short, final legal hurdle to clear, Love’s announced on Aug. 15, 2022, it was pulling the plug.
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The Oklahoma City-based truck stop giant said it recognized that some Ramsay citizens and leaders opposed its plan — something that was actually clear from the get-go — and was moving on.
“For business reasons, we will no longer pursue a travel stop in Ramsay at this time and will shift our focus to other projects that support our plans,” Love's said in a statement.
Love’s might have already had its eyes focused 60 miles to the south just outside of Dillon, where its hopes and plans to locate a convenience store and truck stop are now well underway with supportive nods from city officials.
They and other backers say the site Love’s is pursuing was being developed as a truck stop years ago before that partnership’s finances unraveled. Love’s operates clean, reputable travel stores, and it will usher in needed tax revenue for Dillon, they say.
“We all know the more money in the coffers, the more the city can do,” Tim Stoker, owner of Beaverhead Motors, said at a recent Dillon City Council meeting.
But some small business owners and residents hate the proposal, saying it will hurt longtime local businesses by diverting travelers from coming all the way into town, worsen the labor shortage and increase crime, among other concerns.
And, some say, it’s just a bad fit for Dillon.
“It’s just not the direction I want to see our community and our county go,” said Dan Schwarz, owner of Schwarz Custom Boots and manager of Atomic 79 Boots and Gear. “We’re the last best place in the whole state.
“We’ve got blue-ribbon trout streams, we’ve got hunting, we’ve got fishing, we’ve got all kinds of stuff that a truck stop is not gonna do any good for.”
They’ve upped their opposition in recent weeks, and like the folks did in Ramsay, they’ve hired a Helena law firm to fight the plans on legal fronts.
Love’s has its own lawyers, of course, and is accustomed to regulatory hurdles and in some cases, opposition. It had about 440 stores and truck stops in 2017 when it was eyeing Ramsay. It now has 640 locations across 42 states, including truck stops in Great Falls, Hardin and Missoula.
Love’s on the horizon
Love’s is in the process of purchasing land and a vacant, never-used building next to two hotels just off a frontage street that connects Interstate 15 to Dillon and its 4,200 or so residents.
Love’s says it will remodel the large building into a convenience store offering fresh food, snacks and friendly service, and its plans include parking spaces for 50 cars, 56 semis, two RVs and separate fueling stations for cars and trucks. There will also be a fast-food restaurant, though a decision on which chain is pending.
It isn’t saying what it might pay in local property taxes but says “it is often the largest taxpayer in the community,” donates to local nonprofits and embraces the places it’s in.
“We place Love’s in locations that have a gap in coverage from our existing network and that are easy to access for customers,” Love’s said in email statements to The Montana Standard.
“Dillon’s location is ideal for people visiting nearby state parks and tourist destinations,” Love's said. “As those customers stop in for fuel, we’re hopeful they’ll take advantage of other offerings Dillon has to offer like we often see in other towns.”
City officials say they have met with Love’s representatives many times and many public meetings have been held over the past year, including a Love’s presentation before the Planning Board in June 2023.
Love’s has cleared zoning requirements and in May, the Dillon City Council approved a preliminary plat for what’s been called the Clover View Minor Subdivision — the site of the proposed truck stop. The council OK’d the remaining annexation last week so the entire truck stop will be within city limits.
The company says it has obtained needed permits from the Montana Department of Transportation and Montana Department of Environmental Quality except for its sewer system. On that front, it has agreed to pay for needed upgrades to an existing lift station.
Mayor John McGinley says he thinks Love’s representatives came to Dillon inquiring about the vacant building and land as early as the fall of 2021 and he and the city’s operations director met them at the site more than two years ago.
Groundwater and other issues were discussed then and all public meetings have been noticed in the Dillonite Daily, the city’s website and City Hall he said.
Most council members have supported the project and so has McGinley.
He says the truck stop should free up traffic congestion on the frontage road and Montana Street, mostly from big rigs that come into the north part of town to fuel up, and Love’s will bring in new tax revenue.
McGinley acknowledges concerns voiced by opponents and he attended one recent gathering of opponents and fielded questions.
Love’s squeezing an already-tight labor market is a legitimate concern, he said, but he doesn’t think the truck stop will hurt downtown Dillon.
“If you’re not trying to bring some businesses into Dillon, pretty soon they’re (existing ones) are drying up and they’ll go away,” McGinley told The Standard last week. “There are a number of people who leave here and go to Butte to go to Walmart.
“We need to start bringing in some big, multimillion-dollar companies into Dillon so at least some of the smaller mom-and-pop shops can survive more or less off the backs of those places who bring people here.”
Dean Bjorke, who owns land at the site, told council members he was involved in early construction of the building before the primary developer “went belly up” in 2009. He said he purchased it in 2011 and has sought interest in the property since then.
“It was always envisioned as a truck stop and was permitted that way,” he said. “I’m excited as heck to be involved in a great organization like Love’s that takes care of its employees.”
Brewing opposition
Opposition has only recently materialized and mobilized.
“We are late to the parade, that’s for sure,” said Bill Dwyer, a retiree and longtime Dillon resident. “One of the reasons we’re late is because whenever annexation or zoning has been discussed, it’s been discussed as the Clover View Subdivision without really much mention of what it’s going to be used for.”
When the city posted meetings on the topic, Dwyer said, it was about the subdivision, not the proposed truck plaza.
“I think they might have followed the letter of the (open meetings) law but the spirit of the law would be informing the public about the fact that this is going to be a big development and a major change on that side of the law.”
Dwyer and others have attended and spoken up at recent council meetings and held some of their own gatherings in hopes of organizing and galvanizing opposition.
They just recently hired Morrison, Sherwood, Wilson & Deola, the Helena law firm that Ramsay residents hired, to consider possible legal action. They have also formalized as a group called the Dillon Community Coalition to fight the project and seek local government reforms.
They realize, Dwyer said, that they’re taking on city hall and a growing, corporate truck stop giant.
“It’s very much a David and Goliath situation,” he said.
A cornerstone concern and contention is that most motorists who stop at a truck stop at that location will gas up, buy a few things, maybe grab a bite to eat, then get right back on I-15.
“It says on their website, ‘No matter what you’re looking for, we have everything you need to get you back on the road quickly,’” Sara Zitzer, who owns Sweetwater Coffee in downtown Dillon, told The Standard. “That’s not what we want for our community. We want them to come through town.”
Zitzer noted that as motorists head into Dillon, there’s a turnoff to a kid’s fishing pond and the YMCA and at Montana Street, you can go left to Rocky Mountain Supply and a Cenex gas station or right toward a Town Pump, grocery store and historic downtown.
Opponents say city officials are welcoming an “edge development” that will hurt local businesses that have been in Dillon for decades. McGinley says he doesn’t see that happening but Zitzer thinks Love’s will siphon so many dollars it will force some business to close.
“It’s just super frustrating that the city is acting like they work for Love’s and they don’t work for us,” she said.
Lindsay Gaasch says the Den Steakhouse and Bar she owns has been a staple in Dillon since 1941 and like so many businesses, it’s struggling to find employees.
“We pay well and we treat our employees well but when you’re competing against a big company like that (Love’s), that probably has unlimited funds for insurance and 401Ks — I don’t even know how they would staff it so how will the rest of us do that in Dillon?” Gaasch said.
They have other concerns, too.
They’re worried that a truck stop will be a magnet for crime, including drug-trafficking and human-trafficking prevalent along the nation’s interstates.
It will increase traffic on a busy street across from a children’s fishing pond, the say, and there seems to be no planning for a crosswalk, stop light or other safety steps.
They’re concerned about fuel tanks being installed in an area that’s close to a floodplain and where the water table is approximately 3 feet. Any leaks would likely find their way into the nearby Beaverhead River, a lifeblood to anglers, outfitters and so many others.
Jim Ayres, who played a leading role in Ramsay’s fight against a Love’s truck stop, said opponents in Dillon have a huge challenge on their hands.
Ramsay at least had residential zoning boundaries and issues it could argue, he said, and those were the remaining legal issues in play when Love’s backed out in August 2022.
Butte-Silver Bow government officials weren’t behind Ramsay residents either, he said, and depending on the issue or concern raised, kept “passing the buck” between departments and boards.
“Everybody said, ‘We did all we could. We did all we could,'” Ayres said. “Nobody took the whole project collectively and said, ‘Wait a minute. This doesn’t fit.’”
Pressing On
Love’s seems to have overall city support and momentum on its side in Dillon.
It says it’s a myth that truck stops bring criminal behavior to an area and says statistically, “crime rates at our locations are in line with the city or county’s overall crime rate.”
The company also says the amenities and products available at its travel stops “will complement what the town of Dillon already offers.”
“We often see customers who need to fill their gas tank or use the bathroom at our location end up staying in town for a bite to eat or shop,” the company said.
Love’s also said its representatives have attended several public meetings over the past few years to answer questions and provide information about its plans.
“The company did not deliberately keep this news quiet,” it told The Standard. “We historically only make official announcements when new locations open versus intent to open a store.”
McGinley supports the proposal and city boards and the council have taken steps to move the project along.
Dwyer said he and other opponents have a little more organizing to do and with the help from the law firm are weighing their legal options.
They have no plans to abandon their fight or their push for reforms in city government. On the latter front, they say, the city should have a city planner and a full-time city attorney, among other things.
But they’re not out for bad blood, Dwyer said.
“No matter how this goes, we’re not trying to demonize anybody,” Dwyer said. “There are very few people who want to run for city council, much less mayor.
“I have nothing against the developers,” he said. “They’re just trying to make money. I mean, that’s what they do. I don’t even view Love’s — I mean, I don’t want them in my community, but I guess they’re successful at what they do. But, you know, we don’t need them in our community.”