DIEPPE, N.B. — Town council deferred the road salt tender decision until the Nov. 12 meeting because of a clerical error with the contract.

Council reviewed the bid from Cargill Deicing Technology of Sussex to provide the town with salt at a rate of $41.75 a tonne for the year, or $47.82 a tonne delivered to Dieppe’s public works department.

The only other bid submitted, by a Pugwash, N.S. firm, quoted a cost of $50 a tonne delivered.

The problem arose when it was noticed that the Cargill tender lists the transportation cost on a separate line, but nowhere did it specify the transportation price of $6.07 a tonne must be combined with the $41.75 a tonne bulk price of the salt.

There is nothing wrong with the bid price but with the wording in the contract, says Mayor Yvon Lapierre.

“It’s important that the error be fixed soon with the winter weather just around the corner. Let’s not wait until there are 150 cars in the ditch to rectify the problem,” Lapierre says.

In the meantime, the town still has some salt from last winter in storage to tide them over.