City of Evanston fleet lead technician Dennis Lawrence and street department staff demonstrated the city’s routine plow inspection checklist and how the AcuBrine system produces salt brine for winter road treatment. Staff described both what they check on plows and how brine is mixed and stored for spreading.

Lawrence, who identified himself as a City of Evanston fleet lead technician, said crews inspect each plow ‘‘all around’’ before use. ‘‘We’re looking at the blades as well as the condition of the, moldboards, which is the bottom portion, the deflector, which is in the front that keeps the snow down towards the ground as the truck goes forward,’’ he said. He said crews also check fasteners and bolts and look for anything loose.

Patrick Kennedy, who works for the street department, described the city’s AcuBrine system for making liquid salt. ‘‘Salt is loaded into the hopper,’’ Kennedy said. ‘‘It’s mixed with water. It’s mixed around and around and around till it reaches, 23.3 salinity, and then it’s sent out to the tanks.’’ Staff identified three 6,000‑gallon storage tanks on site for holding finished brine prior to loading onto trucks.

Lawrence also walked through the material handling process. He described a conveyor that distributes salt into a rotating drop chute that ‘‘spins and shoots the salt off to the ground’’ and allows brine to be sprayed onto the salt so trucks receive an even spread. Lawrence said the system can spray the sides of the salt stream to achieve a wider application when trucks spread material on roadways.

City staff framed the procedures as safety measures. Lawrence said the inspection routines and the brine‑and‑conveyor process are designed to ‘‘get a wide spread for the truck for the safety of our citizens when they’re driving up and down [Evanston] streets’’ and to help crews ‘‘do their jobs proper.’’ No formal actions or votes were recorded during the demonstration.

The demonstration focused on operational details — inspection points, brine salinity, storage capacity and how the conveyor and chute distribute treated salt — that affect how crews prepare equipment and materials for winter response.