North Royalton Salt Barn.JPG
North Royalton's salt barn is still holding 800-900 tons of salt.
(Bob Sandrick, special to cleveland.com)
NORTH ROYALTON, Ohio - The city will buy road salt for next winter at last winter's price, under a one-year contract renewal with Cargill Inc.
However, the city will likely spend less on salt due to last season's light snowfall, Service Director Nick Cinquepalmi said. About 800 to 900 tons of salt are leftover in stock.
The city is renewing with Cargill also because of the company's service. Cargill, in its contract, promises to deliver salt within 48 hours of a request.
"We've never had issues with their delivery of salt," Mayor Robert Stefanik said.
North Royalton is part of a salt-buying consortium that uses its buying power when seeking bids from salt providers. In addition to North Royalton, the consortium consists of Beachwood, Brecksville, Broadview Heights, Brooklyn, Brooklyn Heights, Cuyahoga County, Independence, Lakewood, Middleburg Heights and Valley View.
Seven Hills was a consortium member but has chosen not to renew with Cargill, according to a June 1 letter to the city of Brecksville.
Cargill's salt price of $56.29 a ton from last winter will carry over into next winter. But the city expects its salt budget to drop.
That's because the city will buy less. Last winter, the city ordered 7,500 tons of salt. Under its contract with Cargill, the city was obligated to buy at least 80 percent of that amount, or 6,000 tons.
But as of today, the city has purchased only 3,000 tons of salt under last year's contract. That means it still must buy another 3,000 tons, all of which will go toward next winter's salt supply instead of last winter's.
The city eventually will pay Cargill a total of $337,740 under last winter's contract.
Since the city will have about 3,900 tons of salt in stock for next winter, it will buy only 4,500 tons to replenish its supply this coming winter, or at least 80 percent of that, or 3,600 tons. So the salt budget will fall to between $202,644 and $253,305.