The $2 million would fund the construction of a new 3,000-ton salt-storage facility at the public works East Mountain Road site. The existing facility, built in 1982, holds 664 tons of salt at capacity and often has to be refilled, said Buck Sixt, public works director. Construction on the new facility is projected to cost $400,000, Davis said.

"I'm already on the phone ordering salt before it even snows,'' Sixt said.

He noted the Salt Institute, a North American nonprofit salt industry trade association, recommends storing at least 75 percent — or preferably 100 percent — of the amount of salt and mixes containing salt used from the year before. To date, the public works department has used 2,555 tons of salt this year, Sixt said.