CENTERVILLE — Dear Editor,



I would like to present the facts regarding the issue regarding the city salt shed so that nobody has to rely on rumors and hear-say.

There are actually three major things that happened in about the same time frame that led to the construction of the salt shed and other significant things to be accomplished. FEMA talked to the city about clean up after a major storm, an annual inspection by the Iowa Municipal Workers Compensation Association and Department of Natural Resources telling the city that they could no longer stock pile salt on the ground.

During the IMWCA inspection where I was present, the representative stated that two street department dump trucks should be replaced. In their letter to the city the DNR clearly stated that salt used on streets needed to be put inside out of the elements. The good news was, that money would be available because FEMA agreed to pay the city in excess of $300,000 to clean up the storm damage that they had identified.

The decision to build a salt shed was not made on a whim. Alternatives were considered for salt storage and a build for that purpose was deemed best and FEMA money was available.

One recommendation considered was to use the building on Washington (belonging to the Water Department) for salt storage. It was found unsuitable for the following reasons: 1) Not large enough to store enough salt and sand; 2) Not big enough for the dump trucks to load and unload inside (because of this fact, salt and sand would have to be dumped on the ground outside and then moved inside and then be placed on the ground inside); 3) A vent would have to be cut around the entire perimeter to allow caustic gases to escape from inside; 4) Because this is a metal sided build the salt would cause corrosion to the siding; 5) Because there is no floor in this building, water washing under the building would cause the salt to clump and loose some of its snow and ice melting capabilities; 6) Because the building is small and the salt would clump, the salt would have to be taken back outside to be broken-up and mixed with sand.

It has been recommended by some to purchase less salt to help cut down on corrosion of the building. However, salt must be purchased when available and not on an as-needed basis. Therefore, the best decision to build a salt shed was made, using FEMA money instead of local tax money.

It is a good thing the street department had the foresight and initiative to do the clean-up work that FEMA authorized. The city was able to keep FEMA money for local use rather than these funds going to an outside contractor. If an outside contractor had done the work, the FEMA funds would have left Centerville and the issues regarding dump truck replacement and salt storage would have had to be addressed with no funds available.

It is time to put the chatter about the salt shed construction to rest and get on to new city business.



Respectfully submitted,

Bill McAfee

Centerville