Palatine sets aside $1 million for salt dome, generator

Two aging relics from the late 1980s and early 1990s that are located within 500 feet of each other will be replaced this summer to the tune of around $1 million.

The Palatine village council Monday night approved plans to replace the village's road salt storage structure, built in 1991, and emergency power backup generator, first installed more than 25 years ago.

When completed, the new salt dome will replace the current 24-year-old structure and more than double the village's salt storage capacity. But constructing the dome will cost the village $556,740, which is around $100,000 more than the $460,000 available in the budget for the project.

Public Works Director Matt Barry said the price of building the dome increased because the price of concrete rose by 30 percent in the last year.

"Concrete has been very expensive," Barry said. "We will be building the walls 8 feet high and the dome is 90 feet in diameter so we will be using a significant amount of concrete."

Barry said the village will be able to afford the over-budget salt dome because a road project on Kenilworth Avenue looks like it is going to come in at around $110,000 less than what had been budgeted.

The new dome will be able to hold 4,000 tons of rock salt and will be built where the current structure is in the back of the Combined Services Facility.

The new backup generator that was also approved Monday night is also behind the Combined Services Facility and will provide emergency backup power to everything there, including the new salt dome.

Barry said the new generator will cost just under $440,000.

"These are generators that are the size of a small truck trailer," Barry said. "They are quite large."

Barry said the old generator wasn't cutting it any longer. According to village documents, only about 25 percent of the facilities would be covered by the current generator should the power go out.