STEUBENVILLE — The Jefferson County Commissioners authorized repairs to a few masonry cracks on the southeast side of the Justice Center but agreed to have the entire building assessed come spring.

At Thursday’s meeting, commissioners agreed to bring in Angelina Stone and Marble of Bridgeport for the repairs after Maintenance Supervisor Patrick Boyles told them they’d found three cracks that warranted immediate attention. Boyles said the cracks are “pretty significant, some are a half-inch wide,” and while he’s recommending having the company do a building-wide masonry assessment, he said it could wait until spring.

Boyles said Angelina Stone quoted a price just under $25,000 to replace cracked bricks in those three areas, then apply new sealant. The building inspection, including photos of any damaged area, would run around $4,700, but Boyles pointed out that number likely will go up a bit by spring.

Commissioners also approved a $13,852 change order for the county Road 11 bridge replacement project. The additional cost includes replacement of 100 linear feet of storm drain encountered during construction, about 100 tons of stone to stabilize the foundation for precast box culvert, adding calciment to backfill material to ensure proper compaction for road use and welding and installing steel beams provided by the county to close the opening between the new drilled shaft wall and the precast concrete box culvert.

“These were items that weren’t defined in the contractor plans and agreed upon and negotiated with the contractor as change orders,” county Engineer Eric Hilty told commissioners.

With the change, total project cost will be just over $675,301.

Commissioners told Hilty residents ask them why his department chips-and-seals county roads instead of as opposed to putting down asphalt, saying one questioned “why they got the Focus instead of the Cadillac, they didn’t get asphalt pavement.”

Hilty said it costs about $18,000 for one mile of chip seal, versus $200,000 for a mile of asphalt. With 258 miles of county roads to maintain, he said laying asphalt on all of them would easily run around $70 million, adding that “doesn’t include the bridges, the guard rails, the tree trimming, vegetation control, the base repairs or the snow and removal in the winter.”

“That is a big thing that we think about,” Hilty said. “It seems easy to pave a road or to do one thing, but when you look at the system as a whole, chip-seal is the one way that we can preserve what we have and make sure our roads are smooth.”

Juvenile Court Administrator Joe Colabella notified commissioners they’d been awarded a $9,900 grant from the Ohio Attorney General’s office for a live-scan fingerprint machine.

Commissioners also agreed to cover the cost of retesting water sources in a kitchenette used by the Social Security office staff.

The original tests, required and paid for by GSA, had detected a possible contaminant in the kitchenette faucet, which Boyles said he’d already replaced. The estimated cost is less than $1,400.

Commissioners also:

• Signed a $132,479 contract with American Roadway Logistics of Norton for the county’s 2025 pavement marking program.

• Approved a modified water tower lease agreement with New Cingular Wireless for a water tower at Woodview Lane and Two Ridge Road.

• Decided to cover the cost of connecting the board of elections to the county’s generator, which Director Bob Gale said will allow his office “to process early voting and election night reporting in case the office was to lose power.”

• Will schedule a viewing and hearing to evaluate a request to establish a road in Green Valley Estates, Island Creek township.

• Appointed Gino Morelli to their grant writer oversight committee.

• Shifted funds in the county engineer’s Motor Vehicle and Gas Fund to cover payroll needs in the Highway Department and mapping office, Hilty said. He told commissioners the move was needed, at least in part, to cover the payout for an employee who’s retiring as well as increased costs associated with “a very heavy winter.”

• Were briefed on SBA funding availability for businesses impacted by flooding in the Wheeling area.