Due to a huge spike in the cost of road salt, not all roads in Beecher will be salted this winter during snow and ice storms.
At the Aug. 24 village board meeting, Trustee Erik Gardner brought up the bad financial news that the village will not receive an Illinois Central Management System bid for salting and the cost for salt will double.
The salt issue is a problem across the country after last year’s snowfalls set records in a lot of areas – including regions that normally do not get much snow.
Thus, the cost of approximately $65 a ton has risen to $127 per ton, and the village budgeted roughly $39,500 for 600 tons.
Board members reluctantly voted to order 300 tons this year and are hoping for a mild winter.
Public Works Supt. Matt Conner said the village has 600 tons in reserve right now.
When Conner laid out options before the vote, he said that ordering less salt will result in salting less roads during snow and ice events.
“Either we stay within our salting budget limit and order less salt and just salt main roads and intersections, or we go over our budget and do what we normally do,” he said. “It could double or triple the cost.
“This is the first time it’s ever happened to us. We knew it was coming at some point. We’ve been fearing it. And this is the first time.”
Because of the demand for salt, officials said that a municipality can’t order 300 tons now and another 300 later if there is significant snowfall. The purchase has to be locked in now.
Gardner said that Beecher was one of 261 agencies in the state that was not awarded an ICMS bid.
Working on Catalpa mess
Neglected property in the 600 block of Catalpa Street has some neighbors up in arms about animal waste and conditions of a swimming pool that cause rodent problems.
Beecher Mayor Marcy Meyer said the village is handcuffed on what it can do.
“We have to work in the framework of the law, and there are limits as to what we can do,” she said.
“We contacted the Will County Health Department because there was standing water. There is a pool that seems to have been abandoned. They treated some of the property and treated the pool. We do not know what else was said or done. That’s beyond our jurisdiction.
“We are working on it, and we are doing the best we can. The owner has been fined and tickets have been issued.”
Beecher bits
- The postponed Beecher Night Out will now take place from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Sept. 29 at Firemen’s Park. It was originally slated for Aug. 11 but was put on hold because of storms.
- The board approved a $10,000 TIF application for the expansion of the Thirsty Turtle, 751 Penfield Street.