WARREN — With Vienna officials having discussions at a recent meeting about a letter sent to townships about his salt purchasing program, Trumbull County Engineer David DeChristofaro wanted to provide some clarity about certain remarks.

DeChristofaro clarified on Thursday that the salt dome was purchased with a loan, correcting Trustee Phil Pegg’s earlier claim that it was funded by a 17-entity state grant — presenting payments his office made.

“I didn’t make many of these because I wasn’t here until 2025, but in 2015, the first payment was $25,000 — every year thereafter, it was $50,000,” DeChristofaro said. “In 2020, for whatever reason, it was $25,000, then continuing at $50,000 until 2025, when we paid the loan off.”

DeChristofaro said the dome cost $500,000, with his office putting $175,000 of county money up for it — with $43,000 in additional work to prepare the site.

At that same meeting, Pegg remarked that the North River Road dome could hold 25,000 tons, which DeChristofaro said also isn’t true — adding that it holds approximately 12,000 tons of salt.

He said his office purchased a vacated Ohio Department of Transportation outpost in Hubbard, which adds 4,800 tons to the county’s salt reserves.

“That’s about 16,000 tons that we can store — still much less than 25,000 that he claims we have here in Warren,” DeChristofaro said. “I don’t know where he got those numbers from, but he’s wrong.”

DeChristofaro clarified that the letter he sent officials only suggested government entities with orders exceeding 500 tons with a storage facility — not that it was the minimum threshold to obtain salt through ODOT.

He said any entity — even colleges or universities — could purchase salt directly through ODOT with a contract, pushing back on a remark Pegg made suggesting the North River Road dome was built to obtain it cheaper for smaller communities.

DeChristofaro said the engineer’s office used to buy 12,000 tons for their own use, which changed after the dome’s construction and purchasing for 41 entities, which brought the total salt to 34,000 tons.

He said he couldn’t recall when those entities joined the list, adding that they range from organizations like Kent State University to entities such as the city of Warren, which purchases 6,000 tons a year.

Since speaking to Niles officials at a February regular council meeting, DeChristofaro said he has spoken to Bazetta, Brookfield, Champion, Warren and Girard officials about his proposed salt purchasing program. DeChristofaro said he expects to speak with Howland officials in the next couple of weeks.

In terms of entities that have chosen to keep purchasing through his office ahead of his April purchasing, DeChristofaro said Girard and Niles both have at 2,000 tons a year. DeChristofaro wrote in a Friday night message that Warren city officials have informed him that they plan on buying salt directly from ODOT — making them one of three communities that have chosen to pursue their own ODOT contracts. Lordstown and Champion are the other two, he wrote, relieving his office’s responsibilities of a total of 10,000 tons of salt.

“I want everybody who wants to stay to stay, but those big ones I would like for them to go on their own, because number one, they could save money,” DeChristofaro said. “Number two, it would be easier for us to manage the salt for the remainder of those who stay with us.”

Even with January’s harsh winter fresh in people’s minds, communities plan on sticking with their previous years’ order, according to the ones he’s spoken to, DeChristofaro said.