New dome may save Buffalo Grove on winter salt

Buffalo Grove's Public Works Department is moving closer to replacing its salt storage facility, hoping the new salt dome will enable it to cope better with the challenges of the market and Mother Nature.

On Monday, the village board approved a contract with Dome Corporation of North America in an amount not to exceed $397,660 to build the new dome at 51 Raupp Blvd., the site of the old dome and across the street from village hall.

In a memo to other village officials, Public Works Director Mike Reynolds said $317,660 to pay for the dome would be taken from reserves in the general operating fund, and other funding could be drawn from snow and ice funds.

The new dome will replace a structure that was found to be sagging following the winter of 2014-15. It will store 3,700 tons of road salt, Reynolds told the board.

With the new salt dome, the village will have greater flexibility for ordering salt and taking delivery, he said.

"Every year communities are held hostage by salt suppliers and the limitations presented by the timing and structure of the bidding process," Reynolds added. "Communities were and continue to be at the mercy of suppliers and Mother Nature when it comes to salt."

The new dome will minimize the village's exposure to salt shortages or supply chain interruptions, both of which would result in increased salt cost, Reynolds wrote in his memo.

The new dome is 48 feet tall, nearly twice as high as its predecessor.