HOWLAND — County Engineer David DeChristofaro brought up the potential acquisition of a vacated Hubbard ODOT outpost during last week’s council of government meeting.

Vienna trustee Phil Pegg encouraged DeChristofaro to speak about the county’s salt program, which tackled questions about topics like city governments receiving infrastructural improvements through the county engineer’s office.

DeChristofaro recalled his previous tenure as county engineer in 2009, mentioning that the county lacked both a salt program and a dome but had intentions to construct a dome in the future.

Before they had the dome, he explained, they put a scale in the yard, which they had also not previously possessed, and measured salt by the scoop.

DeChristofaro commended Randy Smith, who served from 2011 to 2024, for taking the dome’s plans and building it in 2013, as the Environmental Protection Agency mandates salt must be in an enclosed space to comply with regulations.

When DeChristofaro resumed the position in January, however, he noted there were some issues on the financial side of things.

“There were problems with some communities saying they didn’t get their bill for a few months and they’re working with their finances,” DeChristofaro said. “They want to pay the bill before the year end because they bought the salt in 2024 and they don’t want to pay for it with their 2025 budget.”

DeChristofaro said there were also discrepancies in inventory counts, as some communities claimed they had more, but his office showed them their paperwork.

“We made some improvements in those areas, and when I was making those improvements, I think people were thinking I was making changes to eliminate it,” DeChristofaro said.

“There was never any intention to eliminate the salt program,” he said. “The only intention was to try to make things better with the billing and with the inventory. We improved our software and we improved our procedures.”

He said the salt program would work better than the previous year, noting he wasn’t familiar with how it worked in previous years, but it was one of the issues he heard about in the months leading up to his return to office.

DeChristofaro said he spoke with Commissioner Tony Bernard, who was also present at the meeting, and said they were “hopeful” about possibly acquiring ODOT’s Hubbard outpost.

“That has a facility that has the capability of storing 2,000 tons more than what we can store; we can add that to what we can store in Warren,” DeChristofaro said. “It would keep us in a good position to store all the salt that we need to store if we didn’t have that facility.”

DeChristofaro said the purchase would help communities in the southeastern part of the county, including, such as Brookfield and Hubbard, because they wouldn’t have to drive to Warren to pick up salt, reducing the trip to a two-minute drive.

“We’re hopeful that (the purchase) will happen and we’ll be able to maintain the program without any hiccups,” DeChristofaro said.

Pegg said he spoke with one of DeChristofaro’s assistants, who told him the engineer’s office planned to carry out dome repairs this year and, as a result, would be making a one-time purchase of salt from the state.

Pegg noted communities such as Hubbard, as well as “four or five” other entities that ran out of salt and asked DeChristofaro whether the office would be sticking to that one-time purchase, as he was guessing it would go for $60 a ton.

DeChristofaro said he couldn’t answer that question, explaining that if one community makes an accurate guess while another does not, they could end up short by 1,000 tons, which would lead them to request an additional 1,000 tons from his office.

Pegg suggested filling the Hubbard ODOT facility in the spring if they acquire it, as it’s cheaper to purchase salt in the spring compared to fall.

However, DeChristofaro expressed concern that if they didn’t acquire the facility, they’d have 2,000 tons of salt to move.

“You’re going to cut your cost by doing that, and if it’s anything like picking it up on North River [Road], you know the locals will get it,” Pegg said. “I’m sure Hubbard will swing over there to get their salt, Brookfield, Liberty and us.”