UPDATE RECEIVED — The Jefferson County Commissioners Thursday learned of efforts by the county’s engineering department to assess the condition of local roadways. -- Warren Scott

STEUBENVILLE — An independent crew will be capturing video footage of roadways throughout Jefferson County to help the county’s engineering department to identify areas of need.

On Thursday, the Jefferson County Commissioners learned a crew from the Pavement Management Group of Columbus will be collecting digital video footage of about 260 miles of roads as part of an ongoing inventory and assessment by the department.

The business will receive about $28,000 for its efforts, which are expected to begin in the near future and be completed by mid-summer.

County Engineer Jim Branagan, who was called for comment, said the images will help his department to determine not only areas needing repair but also the effectiveness of strategies currently used to address them and any preventive measures that may be taken.

Branagan said the work is part of an overall assessment of equipment, buildings and roadways within the department’s budget.

“We’ve done seven or eight needs analyses since I started, said Branagan, who added, “You see where your needs and strengths are and where you need to focus in the next five years.”

At Thursday’s meeting, commissioners asked Clay Merrin, chief deputy engineer, if the images could be accessed online if a complaint were made about a certain area and were told they could.

Merrin said the video also will provide evidence of disaster-related damages needed when seeking reimbursement from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Merrin said evaluations of the roadways include surfaces and related structures, such as bridges, culverts and guardrails. He said so far this year, he and other staff have inspected about 400 of more than 2,000 guardrails.

Commissioner David Maple commented there seem to be fewer potholes this season. Merrin replied that the relatively milder weather has wreaked less damage and allowed crews to address them faster.

But the commissioners learned materials used to treat slick roads have damaged the structures in which they are stored.

On Thursday, the commission approved $23,605 in repairs to the department’s salt building in Smithfield and $66,605 in repairs to its salt building in Irondale through contracts with Britespan Building Systems.

Merrin noted steel elements of the buildings sustained damage from corrosive contact, which the department intends to reduce, but the structures have served for a lifespan of about 20 years projected for them.

In related business, the commission accepted a bid of about $155,847 from Howard Bowers Contracting to address recurring slips along a section of county Road 23 leading to the Jefferson County Fairgrounds.

It was the lowest of three bids received for the project.

Maple abstained from voting on the grounds he is renting equipment from the Wintersville business.

The commissioners also agreed to advertise for the pavement of 3.10 miles of county Road 22 and 2.24 miles of county Road 22A in the Wintersville-Bloomingdale area.

In other business:

�–� Toronto Mayor John Parker asked commissioners to consider transferring to the city 2.4 acres of county-owned property along Toronto Union Cemetery and undeveloped land near it.

Parker said the move would allow greater access by city crews to the cemetery, which they have been maintaining since acquiring it last year; and city owned property on Fairview Heights.

While voicing no opposition to the move, the commissioners agreed to consult their legal counsel on the matter.

�–� Commissioners made plans to meet with the Jefferson County Fair board to discuss costs for a small barn for the fairgrounds. While the board had received an estimate of $340,000 for the project, for which it’s been awarded a $45,000 state grant, bids for it came in at close to $500,000.

Representatives of the fair board have since told the commission they believe the costs can be cut.

�–� Maple said plans to approve a budget for the next fiscal year have been tabled until next week while the panel awaits more figures from county officials.

Revenue for the county’s general fund has been projected at $16.2 million. The budget must be submitted to the state by April 1.

In related business, he said while commissioners have made public promotions and raises for its own staff, the heads of other departments haven’t been required to do so. He said while such moves have been within those departments’ budgets, they can lead to surprises when the commission is preparing a budget for the next year.

At Maple’s motion, the commission agreed to approach the department heads about informing them of such steps in the future.

�–� Commissioners authorized the sheriff’s department to expend up to $3,000 to determine the source of a leaking ceiling and $2,500 to repair a coil in the heating, ventilation and air conditioning system.