Snow keeps on comin' and salt keeps on going up in price

Staggered by another brutal winter and high costs, public works officials in Lake and McHenry counties are considering other ways to secure road salt.

Officials representing hundreds of communities in those counties will meet today with Illinois Central Management Services, which bids and contracts salt for many parties.

Those who use and need salt have begun looking for more efficient and less expensive ways to get it.

Mundelein Public Works Director Ken Miller, who heads the local group, says it hopes to find ways to correct the problem, including possible changes to the bid process.

One idea to lower the cost is utilizing a different drop-off point for salt, such as Waukegan, according to Vernon Hills Public Works Director Ed Laudenslager. Ships now deliver to Lemont or Milwaukee.

Banding together in a separate consortium is another option, said John Heinz, Libertyville public works director.

All possibilities are in the exploratory stage, Miller emphasized.

As round after round of bad weather continues, communities are resorting to emergency acquisitions and being forced to act quickly to secure supplies.

Heinz on Tuesday made one of the most urgent pleas yet to his village board, asking and receiving permission to spend as much as $90,000 in motor fuel tax funds to stock up.

"If we wait, we could run into a situation where salt is not available," he said. "Until it gets here, I won't feel better."

Motor fuel tax funds usually are used for local road work. But without another source to pay for the salt, Libertyville officials are stuck and may have to delay future road repairs.

Although last year became the second snowiest on record in some areas of Lake County, strapped municipalities or other entities were able to secure salt when it became needed, sometimes from other towns.

Heinz said Libertyville has used nearly three-quarters of its supply. Libertyville and other communities have been using less salt when crews are out and mixing in sand to make what they have last longer, he said.

Not wanting to be left in the lurch, many entities throughout the Midwest this season ordered early, and some ordered more salt than they normally would.

Communities in Lake and McHenry counties that are part of the state's salt bid were stymied twice because no bids were received.

When a bidder finally was secured, the price had tripled. That led some communities to order less salt, hoping this winter wouldn't be as severe as last year.