Grace Kirchner, Leader Correspondent
Next week’s forecast of warm weather is welcome news to the city of Clintonville, where officials say salt for city streets is running low.
The ice storm in January took its toll on the city’s seasonal salt supply, according to Kray Brown, the city’s public works director.
The city’s shed holds around 12 truckloads of salt, and there are currently four loads (23 tons each) remaining, Brown said.
“I want my shed full,” he said. “I always want a full shed, or close to it. I always want that security if something happens.”
Brown said that a one-day snowstorm means three or four days of clean-up for the city.
“We had 14 weather event days in January and during those days the city used 144,000 pounds of salt,” Brown said. “This equates to about 72 tons of salt. The city used 132,000 pounds of sand salt, which equates to 66 tons. A total of 5,462 gallons of salt brine was used for anti-icing and per-wetting streets in January.”
The city has a good supply of sand salt, Brown said.
Brown said the city won’t be able to get more salt for at least four weeks, according to Brown, who noted the city is not alone in dealing with depleted salt supplies.
“Everybody is feeling the pinch,” he said.
Brown reported that the state has directed Waupaca County to alter its procedures for weather events because of the limited supply of salt.
The cost for the 14 weather event days, he said, included $4,685 for fuel, $27,949 for employee salaries and $2,916 for a contractor to haul snow. The city purchased new blades for its snowplows that cost $3,100.