Mild winter means leftover road salt, nowhere to put it

Public works directors may be the only people in the region hoping winter isn't quite over.

Smaller towns have enjoyed savings from the mild winter just like everywhere else, but fresh off two weeks with record high temperatures, public works directors like Chuck Behm in South Elgin are faced with a storage problem if snow doesn't return.

South Elgin ordered 2,800 tons of salt about this time last year and is contractually required to purchase an additional 700 tons before June 30 to meet its order. Committing a year in advance means Behm had only an educated guess as to how much salt South Elgin would really use.

“If you're lucky enough to have enough storage area, it's not a big deal,” Behm said. “But to people like us, it is.”

South Elgin is among a host of communities throughout the region brainstorming options for additional storage because their own salt domes are full. The problem this year is that they can rarely turn to their neighbors for help.

Behm has already called Dundee Township only to hear its space is full — as are the other townships throughout Kane County. Neighboring Elgin has enough space for its own salt — having just received the final 5,200 tons of its winter order — but its dome won't fit anyone else's leftovers.

Same story in Batavia, Naperville, Mundelein and Glen Ellyn, some of which have offered storage space to surrounding communities in the past.

Kevin Kerrigan, a Lake County engineer, said there will be some space in the two domes the county has for salt, but he expects it to be limited.

“In the last four years, salt use has been above average,” Kerrigan said. “It hasn't been a concern like this in recent years.”

Victor Ramirez, director of public works in Crystal Lake, isn't sure yet whether there will be enough space to store all the leftover salt. Crystal Lake still needs to accept 3,193 tons of salt to make good on its state contract — even while Ramirez makes plans for next year.

If a spring snowstorm descends, it'll probably clear enough product to get everything in. But Ramirez said he is starting to doubt that will happen, and he expects to have to look elsewhere.

Orders are due for the state's joint purchasing program — which allows municipalities to benefit from bulk purchasing power — on March 30 for salt they can use next winter.

Vernon Hills had an agreement with North American Salt Co. last year when it was caught with leftover. The supplier stored more than 300 tons of salt for free after Vernon Hills paid for the purchase of that amount ahead of time.

Al Fonk, fleet supervisor with Vernon Hills public works, said it probably won't be as easy to get such an agreement this year when everybody has extra stores. But he recently heard Lake Forest may be of help.

A new public works facility means Lake Forest has room for 1,200 tons of salt. Public Works Director Michael Thomas said he is looking to purchase extra salt from neighboring municipalities rather than store it. If he can get favorable deals from villages needing to get rid of overflow, he'll order less next week through the state program.

But in Vernon Hills the easiest way to solve the problem would be more snow.

“We're kind of keeping our fingers crossed that we do have another couple events, so we can use some of this up,” Fonk said.

Absent the stress of finding storage solutions, larger municipalities are enjoying the mild winter. Savings in overtime costs, wear and tear on vehicles, salt expenses and simply time for extra work have made public works departments across the region happy to miss out on a second “Snowmageddon.”

Julius Hansen, public works director in Glen Ellyn, said his employees have had time to clean vehicle storage areas, inventory parts, handle building maintenance and repairs that normally get put off and get equipment functional in time for construction season. His crews have also been out to fill pot holes more often and trim trees that usually are weighed down with snow and ice.

“A mild winter for us is a money-saving situation for sure,” Hansen said.

“There really is no down side for us.”