ASHLAND — Ed Meixner is dreaming of a mild Christmas.
In fact, Ashland County’s engineer is ultimately hopeful for fair conditions all winter long.
The county recently received no bids for road salt through two rounds of the state contract through the Ohio Department of Transportation — a situation Meixner can’t recall happening before.
At the beginning of August, the county engineer said ODOT planned to go out to bid for a third time in an effort to seek bids for the dozen counties around the state still seeking to purchase salt through the state contract.
Meixner recently said he was contacted by ODOT about two weeks ago and notified that a bidder was available to supply salt for Ashland County. He decided to pass on the offer.
The county engineer said the cost — if he had decided to purchase new salt through the state contract — would have been $100 per ton. Based on usage levels over the past few winters and the amount of salt the county currently has, Meixner said he felt comfortable enough to hold off.
Ashland County has around 7,000 tons of salt in its supply, according to the county engineer.
From roughly November (2024) to March (2025), about 3,500 tons of salt were used on Ashland County’s 280 miles of roadway it’s responsible for maintaining, Meixner previously said. This past winter, the county used about 2,700 tons.
Between the past two years, that’s 6,200 tons of salt — 800 tons less than the county has in its stockpile. Still, Meixner did acknowledge there’s always a risk when deciding whether or not to purchase more.
“(I’m) hoping we have a fair winter (this year),” he said.
The county does have the ability to put out a local bid of its own. In years when Meixner has put out a local bid, he has typically waited to do so until September, he said.
While the option is still on the table, Meixner currently doesn’t plan on putting out a local bid.
City still plans to purchase salt through state contract
The city of Ashland handles its own road salt contracts separate from the county.
The same statewide bid process that left the county waiting has also impacted the city, which intends to purchase more winter road salt through the state contract, according to Mayor Matt Miller.
He previously said the city uses about 3,300 tons of salt during an average winter and is preparing to use around the same amount this season. Ashland also uses its road salt on the campuses of Ashland University and University Hospitals Samaritan Medical Center.
No definitive details have been provided to the city as of Tuesday regarding the state contract.
“We are planning to obtain salt through this recent ODOT contract, but we don’t yet know the amount or cost,” Miller said Tuesday. “We ordered 3,000 tons, so that is what we are hoping to receive.”
