HUBBARD — Five county snowplows are slated to be stationed at the former Ohio Department of Transportation Hubbard Outpost this winter, allowing the trucks to better serve the southeastern part of the county.

“I think it’s a win for response times. It’s going to save money from fuel and wear and tear,” Trumbull County Engineer Randy Smith said.

Trumbull County commissioners last week unanimously approved a one-year lease agreement with ODOT for the facility. The agreement involves the purchase of 2,700 tons of salt from ODOT at $51.20 per ton, for a total of $138,240.

Smith said the county usually buys its salt through state cooperative purchasing, but is getting the salt in the front dome of the outpost at the same price it would have gotten it through that program. The property has a second salt dome that ODOT will keep as an emergency store, and ODOT will continue to have access to the property.

During a major snow event, the county typically has 25 to 33 trucks covering 467 center-line miles of road, Smith said. A few trucks usually are stationed in Cortland, but until this winter, the rest have been in Warren.

Drivers set out around 3 a.m. By having five trucks begin in Hubbard, those drivers will save 20 to 30 minutes at the outset, making for quicker response times and reducing the gas use and wear and tear to the trucks — especially because when trucks run out of salt, they can come back to Hubbard to restock instead of going all the way to Warren.

Smith said ODOT is building a new facility in Liberty, which is why the space at the Hubbard outpost became available.

“It was just timing,” Smith said.

Hubbard Trustee Fred Hanley started discussions with ODOT after he heard a rumor that the outpost would close. Hanley said that for several years the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency has been asking Hubbard Township to store its salt in a dome instead of outside. Rather than build a costly salt dome — an estimate for doing so this year came back around $244,000, Hanley said — Hanley hoped to use one of ODOT’s domes.

Hanley said Smith came on board and Hubbard, Brookfield and Liberty townships agreed to let the county “take point.”

Hanley said the townships typically purchase salt through the county engineer’s office and likely will be able to draw down from the county’s dome in Hubbard and be billed for what they use.

“It’s really a win-win,” Hanley said. “It really helps small governments like Brookfield, Hubbard and Liberty.”

The arrangement is expected to benefit the city of Hubbard as well, Smith said.

Smith said he wants to make some improvements at the property and will see about continuing to use the outpost in the future. The agreement with ODOT includes the option to renew the lease for another one-year period.

avugrincic@tribtoday.com