City Council Approves Deicing Salt Bids

It's hotter than…well, you know what outside, but winter storms were on Chesterfield City Council's mind Monday night.

The council approved two bids related to deicing salt—about 40,000 tons of it.

It's not all for Chesterfield though. For several years, the city's Department of Public Works has coordinated the purchase and distribution of deicing salt for about 40 cities in the St. Louis area through the St. Louis Metro Branch American Public Works Association Salt Cooperative. This year, the and school districts are also participating in the cooperative.

The cooperative maximizes the entities' buying power. City Administrator Mike Herring called it the "best example of a successful co-op purchasing agreement that I can point to."

"They are waiting for our bid every year," Mike Geisel, director of Planning and Public Works, told the city council at their pre-meeting Monday. "Barges are coming up the (Mississippi) River and (the salt providers are) constantly redirecting them to where they can maximize profits. Knowing that we're purchasing 40,000 tons gives us a lot of buying power."

The council unanimously approved a bid to purchase the salt for $41.89 per ton from North American Salt Company. The total purchase comes out to about $1.68 million, which is shared among the cities and school districts in the co-op. Chesterfield will only be paying for 6,000 tons worth.

The council also unanimously approved a bid to pay for the unloading and distribution of the salt. That contract went to Lange-Stegmann, who distributed the salt to the co-op cities last winter at the same price. It will cost about $8.04 per ton to get the salt to Chesterfield. That amount will vary slightly for each city in the co-op.

In total, the salt will cost the city $49.93 per ton. That's just under last year's price of $50.18 per ton. The grand total for 6,000 tons of salt comes to about $298,000. 

Chesterfield will notify each city and school district in the co-op of the bids so they can approve their own purchases.

In other council news:

• The council had the first readings of several bills. The following may be voted on at the council's next meeting on Aug. 15:
  • Renaming a portion of Lydia Hill Drive—from its intersection with Chesterfield Park Drive to the eastern line of August Hill Drive—to August Hill Drive.
  • Establishing a 30 mph speed limit on Lydia Hill Drive.
  • Restricting parking on Lydia Hill Drive. Under this ordinance, no parking will be allowed on the south side of the street. No parking would be allowed on the north side of the street from Veteran's Place Drive to Chesterfield Parkway West. In the case of special events, parking may be allowed.
  • An agreement between the city and the Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission to repair the Timberlake Manor Bridge over Creve Coeur Creek. Construction is not likely to begin until 2014. The project is estimated to cost about $860,000; only 20 percent of that will be paid by Chesterfield. The rest is funded by a grant.
  • An ordinance that would allow developers at the Drury Plaza Hotel site to build another hotel tower with 145 rooms. This is originally more than was approved at the site in 2002, but the Drury Plaza Hotel has only 275 rooms and 289 were allowed. The whole development would still be under the 429 rooms that were originally approved.
• Judy Naggiar was re-appointed as city clerk for four more years. Naggiar has been the city clerk since 2007.
• Mayor Bruce Geiger named August 1, 2011 Jennifer Rubin Day to recognize the teen's contributions to Backstoppers, a charity that helps families of fallen police and firefighters. Look for a profile of Jennifer Rubin on Chesterfield Patch Wednesday.
• The council appointed former Historical Commission chair Barb Whitman to the Board of Adjustment.
• The council agreed to loan city-owned artifacts to St. Louis Community College, Wildwood for use in their classrooms. Look for a story on Chesterfield Patch later this week.