Hubbard County weighs clearer snow-and-ice policy, changes to townships’ sand-and-salt process

Hubbard County commissioners and staff discussed revisions to the county’s snow-and-ice control policy during a work session, focusing on clearer operational language, how and when crews are dispatched and changes to how townships will obtain sand and salt.

The discussion centered on replacing rigid numeric triggers with more administrative discretion, defining when county crews will be dispatched and clarifying liability and replacement rules for mailboxes. County staff said the current policy dated to 1997 and needs updated language so operators can apply judgment rather than being bound to specific inch thresholds that residents may interpret literally.

Why it matters: The policy governs how county crews deploy on gravel and paved roads across Hubbard County, affects township budgets for winter materials, and sets expectations for residents about when and how roads are treated.

County staff described options and operational constraints. They said high-traffic corridors may be treated earlier — staff noted one high-traffic route where around 1.5 inches of accumulation can trigger plowing — while elsewhere crews often wait until roughly 3 inches before sending crews when conditions make earlier response impractical. Staff said snow type, time of day and safety for operators factor into decisions; calling crews late at night to respond immediately to an accumulation can be inefficient and unsafe if snow is continuing to fall.

The draft drops a multi-tier road-classification scheme (major collector/minor collector) in favor of “primary/secondary” wording to make the policy simpler for staff and the public. On mailbox replacement, staff reiterated the county practice reported in the discussion: the county replaces mailboxes when equipment damage is evident, not when snow alone has shifted or impacted a box, and staff assess each reported incident to determine cause.

Brine and chloride treatments drew extended comment. Staff said Hubbard County currently obtains brine from MnDOT, and that installing an on-site brine system would have an estimated upfront cost of about $35,000–$40,000. They also gave unit cost examples used in planning: $4,196 per mile for calcium-chloride application at the recommended rate and $4,751 per mile for the product branded Durablen at its recommended rate; standard chloride was described as roughly $0.50 per gallon cheaper. Staff cautioned that chloride applications are not allowed to be used as dust-control under state-aid rules.

Township relationships and sand-and-salt logistics were also discussed. The county plans to change how townships receive winter materials: rather than county staff loading contractors at county shops during busy snow events, townships will work with their contractors to pick up and store contracted quantities at contractor locations. County staff said this will reduce demands on county crews during events and provide more transparent tracking of how state-contract-priced materials are used.

Several commissioners and staff asked that language in the draft that framed chloride products as “dust control” be revised; the draft will replace references to “dust control” with terms such as “aggregate stabilization” or remove them where inappropriate. Staff also noted potential external funding sources (local Soil and Water Conservation District programs) that sometimes support brine or stabilization projects near sensitive waters.

Next steps: Staff said they will send the draft policy and a letter about the sand/salt procurement changes to township clerks and to the Hubbard County Township Association and will return the revised policy to the board after township feedback. The board asked staff to present the materials at the township association meeting on the 19th and to circulate information beforehand so townships that cannot attend still have time to comment.