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STEUBENVILLE -- The Jefferson County commissioners are hoping to expand the list of contractors Amsterdam residents can hire for their sewer tie-ins.
At last week's meeting, commissioners asked Jefferson County Water and Sewer Director Mike Eroshevich to reach out to contractors in the Tri-State Area in hopes of finding some interested in participating.
"At least reach out to contractors across the area, see if they'd be willing to particpate," Commissioner Tom Graham told him. "Tell them it's a pretty big job, it'd be worth their while to participate."
"I'm open to anything, we just need a little movement," Amsterdam Mayor Jim Phillips said.
In September, Phillips had told commissioners only four of the 11 contractors who were on the approved list a year ago are still participating, and the four who remain have jacked their prices up.
He said residents who were told a year ago that it would cost them $2,500 to get hooked up are now being told the price tag will be in the $6,000-$7,000 range.
"We were told $2,500 average for hookups," Phillips said. "You can strong-arm people, but if they don't have $7,500 to do it are you really going to drag them into court?"
Phillips said Amsterdam residents "don't have a problem with the approved contractor list. We just don't have enough approved contractors…unfortunately, it's a bad situation.
"I'm open to any suggestion," he told commissioners. "We've got to find a way to get more contractors (involved), or open it up to where residents can do their own if it's inspected."
Commissioners said there's no easy solution.
"There are two problems out there," Commissioner Tony Morelli said. "Prices changed since residents were told it'd be a couple thousand to hook up, now they're telling them $5,000, $6,000, $7,000, that's one thing. The other is that they can't get anybody to do it, no matter what the price is."
Maple pointed out grant money is paying for hookups for residents who qualified as low- to moderate-income, so, "those are the one's getting done." It's the residents who weren't qualified as LMI who are scrambling to find a way to pay for their time-ins.
"You have to remember, it's the homeowner's responsibility, it's not the commissioners' responsibility," Graham said. "Having said that, we can look at ways to try and help them. We can give them another 90 days (to hook up), we can roll it over on their taxes, perhaps, and let them pay over a period of time -- those are all ideas. But the key now is to get contractors."
They also discussed trying to do the work in-house, but Eroshevich told them it would be labor intensive.
"It would be nice to have the data for us to really narrow down how much the delta really is," Maple said. "The only data we have is LMI, nothing justifying a 100 percent increase."
"There are increases," Graham agreed, "but 100 percent is too much."
"But it's still their responsibility," Maple said. "I think that's the frustration point with the mayor, he still thinks someone should be responsible for this other than the citizens. I get the premise, why is it their fault it took so long, why is it their fault prices have gone up. But we're still constricted by law what we can do and can't do. In those cases, I think that's why we had so many requests for legal opinions, we're trying to help."
Graham said everyone's in favor of helping "according to the law and what money do we have as well."
"But once you set a precedent, doing this for homeowners (in Amsterdam), what are you going to do on the next project? Are you going to help them when they want help? (They'll think), Look what you did for Amsterdam, why aren't you doing it for us?"
"I'm already getting some of that," Morelli interjected.
Commissioners, meanwhile, released the $1.1 million family services had requested for improvements at the children's home.
Department of Job and Family Services Assistant Director Matt Kendall told commissioners they need to upgrade their visitation space.
"It has come to our attention recently that our visitation area for clients (this includes court-ordered appointments, family visitation, foster and adoptive visits, along with crisis interventions with children) does not provide privacy or confidentiality," Kendall wrote.
"If we are to receive any ARPA funds, this will help drive our decision-making process on how to best utlilize the children's home, our visitation area or any physical restructuring that will need to occur at our main office to provide the best possible safe, secure and confidential visits for our clients and employees."
Morelli said the visitation area they're using now doesn't have private rooms for visitations. Instead, it has panels. Because they don't go all the way to the celling, "If someone is having a family visit in (one cubicle), people in other cubby holes can hear, there's no privacy."
He said state officials want walls from floor to ceiling, adding the existing facilities also lack a clean-up area.
"They brought a baby in and had to go get a tote because they don't have a tub or anything to serve children," he added.
Commissioners also were asked to participate in the annual Breast Cancer Awareness Month observance, set for noon Oct. 19 at the Fort Steuben Visitor's Center.
The wreath ceremony recognizes breast cancer survivors and remembers those taken by the disease, supporters say.
"In the United States today, there are 3.8 million breast cancer survivors," Women in Action Cancer Coalition Treasurer Jean Lamatrice wrote. "We are encouraged that breast cancer deaths decreased by 1.3 percent per year from 2013-2017."
Commissioners proclaimed October as Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
"The outreach they've done, helping access to testing, it's just a fantastic thing," Maple said, pointing out most people "know someone who's gone through this or been affected by this."
Commissioners will meet in special session Wednesday at 9 a.m. to discuss a request for $25,000 to help pay for a study aimed at determining the best crossing point for a rail trail from West Virginia to Ohio.
Commissioners did not act on an unsigned copy of a resolution Steubenville City Council passed asking the state of West Virginia to keep the Market Street Bridge open for pedestrian and bike traffic.
Maple said there was nothing on the document to suggest it had been authorized by City Council.
"We want to make sure we're receiving something that was formally voted on, decided on," he said. "But this board has no authority over a West Virginia-owned bridge. Any crossings in West Virginia that are viable, I'm in support of."
Morelli said they need to be sure documents that land on their desk have the backing of the appropriate governing body.
"We've had people come in and speak on multiple topics, but I'm not sure if their council was aware," he said.
"We all support keeping it open, if it's safe," Graham said. "West Virginia is going to do its analysis. It's going to be expensive to try and fix it."