LISBON — The Columbiana County commissioners officially named the county Port Authority to administer the Overflow Sewer Grant Program aimed at connecting qualifying Hanoverton residents to the new sanitary sewer system.

The resolution was passed Wednesday, a little over a week after the county Port Authority Board took action to authorize the CCPA to act in an advisory and administrative capacity for the tap-in project.

A grant totaling $190,100 was secured from the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency by the county through the port and the county engineer’s office to help pay for service lines for the new sanitary sewer system.

The project is expected to go out to bid, with one contractor to be selected to install the sewer service lines for the 16 to 18 residences identified for the project, using specifications prepared by the county engineer’s office. Once a contractor is identified, the work will begin, with an expected completion date of July 31.

Chief Deputy Sanitary Engineer Troy Graft explained previously that the OEPA provided grant funding for properties that qualified as low to moderate income for the home connection to the new sanitary sewer line. The Hanoverton sanitary sewer system was years in the making and is now complete, with people starting to connect and bills being sent out.

During the meeting, Commissioner Mike Halleck addressed some issues with snow and ice, saying their office had received a lot of complaints about ice on the roofs of some county-owned buildings. He said there’s really not a lot the commissioners can do about this.

“We’ll have to wait until the thaw happens,” he said.

When asked about the issue, he explained that all four corners of the downtown courthouse have drains and in this kind of weather, they get iced over and when the melting starts, there’s still ice and then they have leaks. He reported there was a leak into an office on the second floor.

Leaks were also reported at the prosecutor’s office building at the northwest corner of Washington and Market and at the county Park District office on Maple Street. He noted that the park district is a separate entity, but the building is owned by the county.

Halleck also responded to a claim from an audience member about 38 prisoners being released into Columbiana County and how it will be what he called a tremendous burden to county resources, social services and law enforcement.

He didn’t explain what kind of prisoners, where they were coming from or how he knew they were coming to the county.

Prisoners come in and out of the county jail on County Home Road on a daily basis and prisoners are also released from the federal prison in Elkton.

“We deal with a lot of gossip and innuendo every day,” Halleck said.

During the county Investment Board meeting, which was held within the county commissioners’ meeting, county Treasurer Bryan Blakeman said the county received more than $5 million in investment interest income for 2025. He said rates are coming down, but the county investments are still on a trajectory to do better this year and next year, until at least 2028.

The Investment Board includes Blakeman, Clerk of Courts Anthony Dattilio and the three county commissioners, Halleck, Tim Ginter and Roy Paparodis.

Blakeman shared the quarterly report prepared by Meeder Investment Management Portfolio Manager Jim McCourt, who was also in attendance, and said the county’s weighted average yield remains over 4% for investments, so when the growth trend starts slowing down, the county will be protected against it at a slower rate due to the higher rates being locked in.

STAR Ohio, which is the liquid account, totaled $17,598,670 as of Jan. 31, which is less than the $21.4 million reported as of Nov. 30. The securities portion of the investment portfolio stands at $121,993,361 as of Jan. 31.

Blakeman said he placed more of the short-term investments into longer-term investments after the passage of the sales tax “so the people’s money can make more money.”

In other recent matters, the commissioners accepted a petition for filing for an expedited annexation of 6.2750 acres in Unity Township to the city of Columbiana for Lakefront Preserve, LLC which is adjacent to the Links at Firestone Farms, LLC, New Springfield, according to the petition documents.

Following the recommendation of county Department of Job and Family Services Director Rachel Ketterman, commissioners approved the hiring of Alfred Ray Elkins of Lisbon as maintenance supervisor for the government services building. Also approved were the following vendor contracts: Columbiana Foods, Inc. doing business as Calcutta and downtown East Liverpool Giant Eagle and Columbiana Market Inc. doing business as Columbiana Save A Lot, food voucher program, contracts from March 1, 2026 to Feb. 28, 2027, each with spending ceilings of $20,000; Cintas Corporation (state contract), floor mat service, Feb. 3, 2026 to Jan. 31, 2029, spending ceiling of $5,500; and Terry’s Furniture, mattress and furniture services, April 1, 2026 to March 31, 2027, spending ceiling $20,000.

The commissioners also: approved load limit reductions on roads in Liverpool Township; approved a road use and maintenance agreement with Hilcorp Energy for Middleton Road and Fairfield School Road for ingress and egress from a pipeline project; journalized a liquor license permit for Tri State Beverage Barn, Center Township, with no hearing requested; and welcomed the Columbiana County Adult Leadership Group.

The next meeting of commissioners will be at 9 a.m. Feb. 18 at the downtown courthouse.

mgreier@mojonews.com