Tooele Council approves Nelson Brothers contract for north-side salt shed, contingent on budget adjustment

The Tooele City Council voted Feb. 4 to approve a construction-manager/general-contractor agreement with Nelson Brothers Construction for a new north‑side salt shed and related site improvements, with the approval made contingent on a forthcoming budget adjustment.

Public works director Jamie Grandpre told the council the project pays for the salt shed and some site work preparing for the Rogers Road well. He gave a total project figure of about $1.51 million and said some costs will be charged to the well project. Grandpre told council that approximately $900,000 would need to be shifted from fund balance and roughly $500,000–$600,000 would come from the Rogers Road well budget to complete the work.

Council members asked about the timing of the budget adjustment and whether work could start before the formal budget change; staff replied the project team had enough funding to begin preliminary work. Councilwoman (identified in the meeting as) Gauthier moved to approve resolution 2026‑02 authorizing the agreement with Nelson Brothers, and Councilman Hansen seconded. The clerk recorded a 4–0 vote in favor.

Grandpre said the city has relied on a south‑end shared salt shed with UDOT and that the north side facility will reduce travel and queuing during winter storms. He described post‑COVID construction cost increases compared with pre‑pandemic pricing and said value engineering was used in the project design.

The council’s approval authorizes the contract subject to the stated contingency that the manager of finance bring back a formal budget amendment; the motion recorded the contingency on the record.