County to get new voting machines

STEUBENVILLE -- The Jefferson County commissioners learned Thursday a portion of new voting equipment for Ohio counties may be paid for by the state.

Commissioner Thomas Graham, who is a board of directors member of the County Commissioners Association of Ohio, said the Ohio House has approved providing $115 million for counties to purchase new voting machines. The Ohio Senate still has to approve the funding.

Graham said the County Commissioners Association of Ohio has been lobbying hard to get the state to provide some type of funding for the voting machines.

"We don't know how much we will get since it will be spread out across the state," Graham said.

Diane Gribble, director of the county board of elections, said the board is waiting to see how the funding process plays out. She said there are a variety of machines to choose from, and she hopes to have the new machines in place for the May 2019 primary election.

Commissioners were updated on plans to repair the rear facade of the courthouse, which was exposed when the courthouse annex was demolished.

Christina Schessler of McKinley & Associates, the architect for the project, said she will appear before the Steubenville Historic Landmarks Commission on June 28 to present plans for the facade work. She noted the stones will be replaced and window openings recreated to match the original look of the courthouse.

Commissioners on May 25 opened three bids for the project. The estimate was $96,500. Angelina Stone and Marble of Bridgeport was the apparent low bidder, with a quote of $72,880. Commissioners received $50,000 in funding provided to the Ohio Historic Preservation Office by the Rover pipeline project for restoration of historic sites throughout the state.

Schessler said she doesn't anticipate any problems with getting the work approved by the landmarks commission.

In other business, commissioners:

¯ Opened bids on behalf of the county engineer's department for paving projects, funded mostly by the Ohio Public Works Commission. The first paving project, involving county Road 41 and township roads in Springfield, Wayne and Island Creek townships, is estimated at $504,859. Shelly and Sands of Rayland had the apparent low bid of $525,821.

The second project, involving county Roads 5, 7E, 7G and 44, has an estimate of $575,865. Shelly and Sands had the apparent low bid of $535,955.

¯ Approved a road-use maintenance agreement with Ohio Gathering Co. for pipeline installation. The company will use several township and county roads in Smithfield and Wells townships as haul roads. The company has posted a $5 million bond for any road repairs, according to the engineer's department.

¯ Received a letter of resignation from former Yorkville Mayor Blair Closser as a member of the county's 911 board of directors. Commissioners are asking mayors of villages in the southern part of the county to submit letters of interest to be appointed to the 911 board.