Carroll County commissioners open Leesville storm sewer bids, review annex project progress

Carroll County commissioners opened bids Sept. 4 for the Leesville storm sewer project, a Community Development Block Grant-funded effort to replace aging storm sewer structures throughout the village.

The work will include installing new catch basins, tying in old pipes and keeping extra pipe on hand in case older lines crumble during construction. Officials say the project will help modernize Leesville’s drainage system and cut down on flooding issues.

Brad Ollinger of The Thrasher Group read the bids, which came in between $157,470 and $213,200. Stull Excavating of Scio was the low bidder at $157,470, followed by Kinsey Excavating & Trucking, Tucson Inc., J. Green Excavating and Ohio-West Virginia Excavating. All the bids included required documentation. Thrasher will double-check the figures before making a recommendation, and commissioners agreed to table the decision until Sept. 11. 

The board also set Sept. 29 as the opening date for bids on a separate household sewer treatment system project in Carrollton.

In an unrelated matter, Superintendent of Buildings and Grounds Ed Eick updated commissioners on the county annex building. He explained that a major electrical upgrade is needed to power Phase 2 renovations. Commissioners approved a change order for $87,908 to install new switchgear, but with equipment on a 27-week lead time, the contractor requested — and received — a 200-day extension. That pushes the projected completion date to June 5, 2026.

“This delay is not going to affect anything in the front side of the building project,” Commissioner Donald Leggett II said.

Commissioners also approved two other annex-related contracts: $24,773 to Lightning Signs of New Philadelphia for exterior signage and $22,895 to Richmond Concrete for new sidewalks, drainage work and ADA-compliant ramps serving the EMA and Child Support offices.

Commissioners stressed that the annex project is about long-term savings, since bringing multiple county offices under one roof will cut down on rent and maintenance costs. Much of the funding has come from outside sources, including a $500,000 congressional award and state grants, along with federal ARPA dollars. More grants are being sought to finish the back portion of the annex, which could double as a public meeting space, emergency operations center or even a backup courtroom.

“I heard a few things on the street that I think we have addressed before but the whole purpose of the annex building is to save money,” Commissioner Robert Wirkner said. “But we’ve got to spend money to get to the point where we can save money.”

“Outside Storage is going to save the county approximately $47,000 a year,” Leggett said. “Everything is new and updated so there should be less maintenance costs.”

Wirkner said there are people who believe what they are spending on the annex building could have been used to get a new building.

“We have already done research on that, that’s not the case,” Wirkner said. “I wanted to make sure we’re getting that message out to the people, they are going to have a one-stop shop where previously they had five different buildings and save money in the long run.”

In other business, commissioners:

— HEARD Interim Dog Warden Merle Long give his monthly report, which included 21 dogs impounded, 11 adopted out, eight returned to owners, no dogs euthanized, two citations for no license and nine citations for running at large.

— HEARD Carroll Golden Age Retreat Superintendent Dawn Faulk give her monthly report. She thanked all who were involved in the open house and cruise-in, which was a big success. She also said they have a new website available at www.carrollgoldenageretreat.com.

— LEARNED total income the commissioners received from oil well activity is $138,000. Commissioners wanted to be fully transparent because this was asked at the Carroll County Transit public hearing.

“We transferred $30,000 to the Carroll County Golden Age Retreat to give them some breathing room to allow for capital improvement projects,” Wirkner said. “But I just wanted to clarify those numbers in case somebody thought that we were talking huge amounts of money.”

— PAID the bills of $108,687.83.