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Thursday, 16 August 2007 |
County prepares for orst-case winter scenario
By KAREN CAMPBELL
Staff Writer
Although it’s just the third week of August, now is the time county road crews begin thinking about winter.
Crew members took inventory of how much salt and limestone mix they still have from last year, estimated what they could need this year, and plan to accept bids for that Sept. 6.
“We bid early because whoever receives the bid can guarantee us that they’ll have the maximum amount we are requesting,” said Auglaize County Engineer Doug Reinhart. “If you wait until late in the season, some companies won’t bid. Their total product is already spoken for.”
With the county salt shed already full of salt, this year the county is seeking bids for 3,200 tons.
“That’s higher than we’ve used the last several years or as long as I can remember,” Reinhart said. “But it prepares us for the worst case scenario. Hopefully we won’t need it or use it.”
Last winter, the county used 1,550 tons of salt and purchased 1,450 tons.
During the 2005-06 winter, the county used 1,650 tons of salt and purchased 1,550 tons. The most tons recently used was 2,960 in 2002-03, followed by 2,850 tons in 2003-04, and 2,400 during 2004-05, the year of the ice storm.
Reinhart is guessing that this year salt may be one of the higher prices per ton that the county has seen in a while, due in part to where it is traveling from.
“Many counties south of here receive their salt from barges off the Ohio River at Cincinnati,” Reinhart said. “Almost all our salt comes from the Toledo area, from salt mines located under Lake Erie. Since we are midway in the state, we probably have one of the longer hauls for the truckers to deliver here, thus making it more expensive.”
He said ensuring that the county has more salt than it should need is important, as salt usage is higher across the state and travelers have become accustomed to depending on it for their safety.
In addition, the county’s salt facility built in 1996 combined with its salt and limestone blending mechanism has made it sort of a wholesaler to all 14 townships, the city of Wapakoneta, Wapakoneta City Schools and some county villages.
“We have to keep the shed near capacity,” Reinhart said. “After one major event, we could use it all in less than a week’s time supplying salt for the 350 miles of county roads, in addition to the 320 miles in the township system, as well as city and village streets.”
The salt facility has the ability to mix 900 tons per day, and to store approximately 2,800 tons of limestone and salt mix, and 900 tons of pure salt.
The last two years, salt usage in the county has been below average, with rather mild winters. Last winter, salt savings in product, usage, overtime and fuel amounted to approximately $45,000. That money combined with other funding was used to pave two additional miles of Conant Road.
Reinhart said whenever salt savings can be turned around and put into capital improvement dollars to pave additional roads, they are.
“I don’t listen to predictions,” Reinhart said. “I believe forecasters have the ability to predict moisture, but I don’t think they have the ability to tell me if it will be 34 degrees or 28 degrees. That 4 degrees makes a big difference in how we prepare and respond.
“I budget for the worst and whatever we don’t use we spend to improve the roads in the spring,” he said. |
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Last Updated ( Friday, 17 August 2007 )
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