Politics & Government

Penske Truck Rental Coming to Kent Lanes

Bowling alley will add moving-truck rental to South Water Street location

will expand this year to add a truck rental service to the bowling alley and lounge on South Water Street.

The Kent Planning Commission voted unanimously Tuesday to allow the bowling alley to expand and start renting Penske moving trucks from its existing building and parking lot.

Jim Palmer, the owner of Kent Lanes, said he sought out the opportunity to rent moving trucks to supplement his business income in light of dwindling day-leagues at the alley.

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"Right now we’re a bowling center. We’re a very seasonal business," Palmer said. "Although this is a 12-month business, their busy season is the summer and my slow season is the summer."

Palmer said the truck rental operation will run from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. — a time when the alley and lounge business is slow — so neither operation should interfere with the other.

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Zack Pittman, a representative of of Penske, told the planning commission that the number of trucks parked at the alley will vary and depend upon reservations made by rental customers.

Pittman said, at max, a half-dozen trucks may be parked at the business at once.

"He’s not going to have 15, 20 trucks sitting on his lot," Pittman said.

He added that no maintenance or refueling of the trucks will be done at the alley. Such maintenance will be done off-site at a nearby Penske facility, Pittman said.

Palmer said he will use the alley's existing digital sign to advertise the truck rentals and will not add new signs.

The commission approved allowing the business expansion with the following conditions: no repairs are done on site, no fueling takes place on site; a fuel-spill response procedure shall be used; a fuel spill response kit must be bought and employees trained to use it; extra fire extinguishers must be installed if needed; no long-term storage longer than 90 days of any vehicles; and no disabled vehicles will be kept on the premises longer than 10 business days.


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