Township Council urged to build new salt shed

A Sparta official urged the Township Council to build a new salt shed at its meeting Jan. 24.

James Zepp, director of the Department of Public Works (DPW), said the current facility is beyond its useful life span.

He presented a plan for a new salt shed that would cost about $2 million and have a capacity of 10,000 tons.

The structure would have 12-foot concrete walls with a wood structure over it. It also would have an area to store equipment.

“Believe it or not, I can’t get my equipment in there,” Zepp said, referring to the current building. “You guys love those traffic boards. We use them all the time and they work very well, but I don’t have a place to put them. Right now, they’re next to the garage. That’s something we can put under there.”

The township’s salt dome was built in 1988 with a capacity of 1,500 tons. Zepp said the township uses an average of about 4,500 tons each winter. In 2015, it used about 7,500 tons.

Zepp said he has been asking for a salt barn for a while. The subject was discussed by the council on Nov. 22 but members declined to introduce a $2.16 million bond ordinance to finance construction.

For the past several years, Sparta has been leasing space from Sussex County at the Lafayette facility on Randazzo Road, where it has stored 2,000 tons of salt.

“They’re not happy having to not touch the salt, and I hear that all the time from the public works guy,” Zepp said. “They’re very nice about it, but they’re not happy that they have to constantly leave that salt there. I’ll be honest, since we did that agreement, I’ve never had to go and get it. We’ve been fortunate, but it’s been there.”

The Lafayette facility functions as an insurance policy if he is unable to obtain salt during the winter, he said.

“I don’t know if you guys remember a few years ago, we had problems down at the port. Down at the port, there are two situations that usually exist. Either the supply is not there and you’re not getting salt at the port or it’s there and the trucking outfits don’t want to bring it up here, and all of a sudden you’re short.”

Zepp said he is requesting a 10,000-ton salt shed because Sparta continues to grow and the DPW recently took over roads, such as North Village Boulevard, Aaron Way and Whitman’s, and it is likely to take over other private roads soon.

The DPW drops 200 to 300 pounds of salt per lane mile during the average storm, and there are 20 plow routes in the town.

Deputy Mayor Neill Clark asked why such a large facility is needed when the township used only 7,500 tons in the worst winter.

Zepp said the larger facility would serve a similar purpose to the Lafayette one, as insurance if salt can’t be obtained.

Sparta also could sell salt to neighboring municipalities if they are short of salt, he said.

Councilwoman Christine Quinn said she supported Zepp’s request, adding that she’s never seen a frivolous request come from his office.

“It’s great to have light winters, but we need to plan that we know what the landscape is capable of,” she said.