Instead of annually advertising and seeking bids for 23,000 gallons of liquid calcium, Public Works Director Chris Stewart told councilors that the town would enter into a three-year contract for liquid magnesium with Innovative Surface Solutions, which has offices in New York and Canada.
He expected to have a contract for final approval of councilors at their next meeting. Stewart estimated that at 99 cents per gallon it would save the town approximately $10,000 annually. Over the last five years, according to the public works director, liquid calcium has cost the town approximately $1.70 a gallon, and there has been only one bidder — MPG out of Presque Isle.
“The issue with that is, they spread it for us,” said Stewart. “So there might be two to three good days when we want it done but they can’t do it.”
He said that the DEP has no issues with the spreading of liquid magnesium, and the cities of Presque Isle, Caribou and the Maine Department of Transportation all use it.
Houlton will continue to use a mix of salt and sand on paved roads, Stewart said. If the town goes with Innovative Surface Solutions, Houlton will lease from the company a tank to keep the material in and a 980 gallon skid mounted liquid spray system at a cost of only $1 per year for each of the two pieces of equipment. That way, town crews will be able to spread the material themselves. If the equipment breaks down, Innovative Surface Solutions will repair or replace it at no cost to the municipality, Stewart said.
The town must buy product from the company for three years at fair market price, according to the proposed contract.
Stewart said that in 2015, the town used approximately 17,000 gallons of liquid calcium on unpaved roads. Average annual costs have ranged in recent years from $30,000 to $36,000.
Frank Beliveau, territory manager for Innovative Surface Solutions, also spoke at Monday’s council meeting.
Beliveau said that the longevity of the equipment is 10 to 15 years if kept indoors and maintained. Beliveau said that liquid magnesium is environmentally friendly and will not hurt the pads of pets’ paws when they walk on it.
“In Vermont, I have about 60 of these agreements in place,” he said.
