The city hasn’t used that amount of salt this early into the winter since 2017, said Fred Stovall, Dayton’s director of public works.
City officials and leaders praised city staff — who they affectionately called “snow warrior” — for working long hours under difficult conditions during the holiday weekend to improve public safety.
“I could not help but be ... highly impressed, as I usually am, by our organization’s response to adversity,” said Deputy City Manager Joe Parlette.
Dayton had about 7,900 tons of salt leading up to the storm that swept into the region on the night of Dec. 22.
But the city used more than a quarter of that supply to treat the roads during multiple days of punishingly frigid weather.
Stovall said the last time the city used that much salt was during bad weather between Feb. 3-5, 2022.
The city used about 3,500 tons during that three-day stretch, which was the major weather event of the winter of 2021-2022, he said.
During the recent storm, public works crews worked around the clock, from 8 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 22, to noon on Saturday, Dec. 24, Stovall said.
All drivers were relieved of duty at noon so they could spend Christmas Eve and Christmas day with their families.
But all 46 snowplow drivers returned to work at 7 a.m. Monday, Dec. 26, because snow was in the forecast, Stovall said.
Between Thursday and Saturday, the nearly four dozen snowplow drivers worked 16-hour shifts.
They did get some relief from 18 alternate drivers, who worked shifts of the same length so the snowplow operators could get eight to nine hours of rest.
Parlette, the deputy city manager, said Dayton’s winter weather response is unrivaled across the region.
“As I drove around the different geographies and cities — I’m not saying anything negative about other municipalities — but we just do it better,” he said.
Dayton has about 5,485 tons of salt remaining for the rest of winter, though the city plans to place an order to replenish its supply.
Dayton used about 6,160 tons of salt in the winter of 2021-2022.
Stovall said he’s confident the city’s order will work out, and he’s not worried about the city running out of the product.
Dayton City Commissioner Darryl Fairchild said city employees deserve recognition for sacrificing time with their families during the holidays to clear roads and work at the city’s warming centers.
Water division employees also deserve praise for responding to emergencies across the city during the stint of bad weather, said Dayton City Commissioner Shenise Turner-Sloss.
“The way that our staff responded to the inclement weather was impeccable,” she said.
During a recent city commission meeting, Commissioner Matt Joseph told city staff, “You do a great job for the community ... especially during times of emergency, like we’ve had this last week.”
Mayor Jeffrey Mims Jr. and Commissioner Chris Shaw shared similar sentiments.
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