Mahoning commissioners reject road salt bid

YOUNGSTOWN — Don’t expect to see bare roads this winter as the county stretches its budget and its supply of costly road salt by mixing it with crushed stone for all applications, but be assured safety won’t be compromised, a county official said.

“It won’t be bare pavement, but we will continue to treat the roads,” said Marilyn Kenner, chief deputy Mahoning County engineer.

“It’ll still be safe,” she said today. “We will never compromise the safety of the traveling public.”

Kenner spoke after the county commissioners rejected the sole bid they received Oct. 1 from a road salt supplier, which was $89 a ton for 3,000 tons.

That company, International Salt Co., would have required the county to pick up the salt in Baltimore using its own trucks, which only hold 10 to 12 tons each. That proposal “would be cost prohibitive,” Kennner said.

Instead, the county will obtain salt at $70.90 a ton under a contract with the Ohio Department of Transportation, using Morton Salt Co. as the supplier, she said.

For the complete story, see Friday’s Vindicator and Vindy.com.