It may be July, but Bettendorf city officials already have begun to plan for what could be a ferocious winter.

The City Council discussed Monday during its Committee-of-the-Whole meeting building a structure at its public works center at 4403 Devils Glen Road that could hold up to 3,000 tons of salt. That would bring the city's total covered salt storage capacity to 9,000 tons. It already has two domes that hold a combined 6,000 tons.

"The last few winters have been really difficult," said Michelle Javornik, deputy public works director for the city. "Our strategy is that we are trying to purchase as much salt as we can when the barges are coming up the river, because that's when you get the lowest prices of the season."

In March, Bettendorf went in with several other cities and bought 6,000 tons for about $60 per ton. In addition, it had 6,000 tons left over from last winter. Some of the salt will have to be stored outdoors, Public Works Director Wally Mook said.

The council will vote tonight on whether to set a July 21 public hearing on a site development plan for the new structure and to seek bids for it.

In years past, the council has paid as much as $162 per ton for salt in emergency situations after the main supply has run out.

"Our efforts are aimed at really trying to avoid that in the future," Javornik said.

Last year, a concrete, 50-foot by 136-foot pad was poured to hold additional salt. The new structure would be built on that pad and would be made of a galvanized steel frame with heavy-duty woven fabric covered with polyethylene.

In January, the council listed finding ways to deal with the skyrocketing cost of salt as one of its top priorities for the year. The city maintains a

standard of having bare pavement on its main arterials and residential streets within 24 hours after a storm.

Javornik said the structure, which is expected to cost $60,000, will pay for itself through lower salt costs.

Alderman Patricia Malinee, 4th Ward, said the proposed structure would look like a greenhouse. "It's not the most lovely structure in terms of design, but I'm really proud of our staff for thinking ahead."

She said building the structure will help ensure that the city does not run out of salt if a big storm hits. "Sometimes, it's hard to even get it."

The city is interested in building a semi-permanent structure as opposed to a permanent salt dome because the method for storing salt may change in the future. City Administrator Decker Ploehn said there has been some talk among cities about building a large salt storage structure in the future that could be shared be several municipalities.

"There may be some economies of scale there," Ploehn said. If that happens, the $60,000 structure could be used to store equipment, Mook said.