STEUBENVILLE — The Jefferson County commissioners are ready to turn 21 lots they own in the Brillant floodplain over to the township trustees.

Commissioners said Thursday it’s time to transfer the properties, which were acquired decades ago from FEMA. County crews have cleared unsightly debris from the properties — including an old toilet, a dilapidated camper, a collapsed canopy and an old car they found on the old Mathews Chevrolet property next to TranSmart, as well as boats other property owners had been storing on another.

The problems came to light in January when Trustee Ben Battenburg asked commissioners to cede jurisdiction over the parcels, located in the Wells Township flood plain, to the Wells Township trustees. At the time, Battenburg said his board had been mowing the properties for years but needed enforcement jurisdiction to address problems with neighboring property owners who treated them as their personal storage sites.

Because the properties had been purchased and the structures on them demolished by FEMA decades ago, commissioners had asked the prosecutor’s office to look into the legality of transferring ownership to the township. In July commissioners were told it was doable, provided trustees accept the FEMA restrictions — chiefly, that they cannot be sold or have anything built on them.

Commissioners said it’s time to “start creating the legal documents to transfer the property to the township, assuming they still want us to.”

Commissioner Dave Maple credited Maintenance Supervisor Patrick Boyles and his staff for “staying on it and getting it all cleaned up down there.”

“There may be a couple of little outliers, but it shouldn’t (keep) us from moving forward,” Maple said. “If the trustees want to take it over with the restrictions — and I believe they are aware of the restrictions on the property — then they would be in a better position to be a steward of that property than we have been, so it’d be maybe better for (them) to have, I think.”

Commissioner Eric Timmons agreed, saying he’s “glad we’ve moved forward and cleaned up those properties.”

“I went to a (township) meeting and that was one of the issues that was brought up, how it looked down there, and I took that to heart,” Timmons added. “And, you know, we (controlled) the property, so we cleaned it up. There also was a business down there that had to operate right next to (one of the parcels), where it looked like trash. So, I’m glad that we could improve it a bit down there. It’s a night-and-day difference.”

Maple, Timmons and Commissioner Tony Morelli applauded the county crews for cleaning the mess up and even “pursued a few people to find out who owned some of it.”

“This is a no-brainer to me,” Morelli added. “The township has done a good job of taking care of these lots and it only seems fair that they own them.

Commissioners also announced the county jail was found to be in full compliance with state standards, a certification that had eluded them for the past quarter of a century.

“It’s the first time in 25 years that it’s happened,” Timmons said. “I have to give a shout-out to Sheriff Fred Abdalla Jr., John Parker and Patrick Boyles for getting this, getting them where they need to be. It’s good to hear.”

Abdalla said afterward he is “very proud of the progress” they’ve made in the jail, “But we must remain vigilant and continue to strive to reach higher standards.”

“The positive results of our recent inspection are due entirely to our jail administration and staff,” he said. “This is because of the hard work of Maj. John Parker, Capt. Jason Fogle and our jail sergeants and correctional staff, including our kitchen staff led by head cook Melanie Kubat. And our medical doctor and nurses are bar none.”

Abdalla also applauded the efforts of Boyles and Justice Center Maintenance Supervisor Steve Mick, and said he was “very proud of (all) these men and women” who helped make it happen.

“We are talking about the care and custody of human beings,” he added. “A lot of work does go into that and (what I expect of my staff) is very high and demanding. Jail administration is one of the most important issues of this county, and the toughest. I want how we do our work in that field to become the standard that other jails want to mirror: We have goals for programs on the horizon so that when a person hears that door close on them and they hit rock bottom, once they have paid their debt they leave the jail with some hope.”

Morelli said there are a few minor issues still to be addressed, including hot water, but that’s on Boyles’ to-do list. He said after speaking with Abdalla it was clear how much he appreciated all the work that’s been done across-the-board to achieve compliance.

“Compared to past inspections, this one was a home run,” Morelli said. “It also should also be mentioned that the juvenile side also successfully passed its inspection. Boyles and his team definitely need complimented, I know they have spent a lot of time and effort to get these positive results.”

Water and Sewer Service District Director Mike Eroshevich was asked to report on a recent line break on Vireo Drive in the Bantam Ridge area that damaged three properties.

“The shut-off of the waterline was delayed because waterline valve had been paved over at some point,” he told commissioners. “Our crew could not locate it or access it until we were able to review the waterline plans, isolate an area to look, use a metal detector to locate it, then chip up the asphalt to access it.”

He told commissioners the residents filed claims to their insurance company, but those claims were denied by insurance because “they said the county was not negligent, there was nothing we did that caused the line to break.”

“Our breaks have been up slightly, it could be from the change in temperature,” he added. “We went from a very hot dry summer to a wet early fall and now cooler temps. The ground expands and contracts with the temperature. The lines in the ground are affected by this movement. We have been lucky the last few years with mild winters, we have more problems when we have colder winters and then the season turns to spring and warms up (causing) older lines moving and shifting.”

He also said that after the meeting, “We met … with funding agencies to present waterline replacement projects for the villages of Amsterdam and Bergholz.”

“The meeting went very well and was attended by the mayors of both villages (Jim Phillips and Gary Griffith) who assisted us in making our presentations,” Eroshevich added. “It feels like it was well received, and we are moving forward with planning projects for both villages that could see construction begin on a phased replacement of waterlines in 2026.”

Commissioners also requested further clarification on the threshold that would determine when they would “need to do a full-blown request for qualifications” procedure for the courthouse fire alarm system replacement. The process would typically require they review, interview and rank the service providers that respond, but there is a threshold below which no ranking would be required.

Two companies — McKinley Architecture and Engineering of Wheeling and Karpinski Engineering of Canonsburg — expressed interest in the job.

Commissioners said the courthouse will be closed Monday in observance of Columbus Day and, due to scheduling conflicts, moved next week’s meeting to Wednesday at 9 a.m.