ASHLAND — Ashland County officials are hoping their stockpile of rock salt will last through the winter, because there’s a high premium if they’re forced to buy from major suppliers.
Ed Meixner, Ashland County’s engineer, said the county has 3,600 tons of rock salt ready to be used on county roads. He said the county typically uses anywhere between 4,000 and 5,000 tons in a winter. However, he’s seen some winters require up to 7,000 tons of rock salt.
If that existing supply runs out, he has a bid price from the Ohio Department of Transportation at $46 per ton — and he’s ready to buy 3,500 tons at that price if the need arises.
The price of $46 per ton is typical, he said.
If that second supply from ODOT runs out, the county faces paying $67.65 per ton from Compass Minerals, a major salt supplier based out of Kansas.
“I would not want to do that at all,” Meixner said of paying the nearly $68 per ton.
That price represented the lowest bid the county received Sept. 30. Morton’s bid came in at $73.62 and Cargill’s was a whopping $78.23, making the average bid price between the three companies a 35% increase from last year’s average.
Last year, the same three companies bids’ averaged out to nearly $54.
Those prices are down from over $100 a ton in 2014-15, but the bids still caught Meixner by surprise.
He said buying road salt is a guessing game every year.
“But it’s also not rocket science,” he said. “I just have to make sure I have more than I need.”
