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LISBON -- Columbiana County commissioners approved the annexation of 10.039 acres of land on Depot Road from Perry Township into Salem on Wednesday, with Commissioner Mike Halleck noting the request met all the requirements.
Since the petition met the six criteria, he said "we don't have a choice."
Richard A. and Theresa L. Spack, who own the property, asked for annexation into the city. Richard explained during a recent public hearing that in order to get water and sewer services, the city requires annexation.
The rectangular-shaped parcel at 1584 Depot Road touches the boundary for the city of Salem adjacent to Adele's Restaurant on Snyder Road and at the rear of the Fresh Mark property which fronts on South Lincoln Avenue. The plant is located in the city.
Attorney Ian Robinson said during the hearing that the zoning was consistent with the city of Salem zoning and annexation would allow for city water and sewer and police and fire services.
Perry Township Trustee Jim Armeni indicated the township trustees opposed the annexation. According to the city ordinance, any property that is contiguous to the city must annex to secure city water and sewer service. If a property is not contiguous to the city, the owner must agree to annex if the property becomes contiguous in the future. There are many properties in Perry Township with city water and sewer that remain out of the city limits. In this case, the property was contiguous.
The resolution outlined the criteria, noting the petition was filed in the manner required by law, the persons signing the petition constituted a majority of the property owners in the area to be annexed (in this case, the Spacks), the city complied with the requirement to pass an ordinance promising to provide services to the property, the area to be annexed "is not unreasonably large," the general good of the territory to be annexed will be served and the benefits outweigh the detriments, and no street or highway will be divided by the boundary line between the city and township or create a road maintenance problem.
In other business, the commissioners accepted bids and awarded the contract for the Whinnery Road bridge replacement project to Eclipse Company LLC of Chagrin Falls for $555,049. Other bidders included Marucci & Gaffney Excavating Co. with a bid of $692,691 and JET Excavating Co. with a bid of $577,435.
Bids were opened for the bituminous asphalt for the year, with Russell Standard Corp. the lone bidder for $2,403,500. The bid will be reviewed by the engineer's office before being awarded.
Commissioners approved the following expenses from the American Rescue Plan Act funds: $999,999 to the county engineer's office for a county garage complex expansion project; $27,434 to the village of Leetonia for the community and business district revitalization project; and $21,700 for a sheriff's office vehicle from Brittain Motors.
The commissioners recognized Beaver Local High School freshman Bobby Buchheit for his athletic and academic achievements during the 2023 wrestling season, noting in a proclamation that he placed seventh at the 2023 Ohio High School Athletic Association Division II State Wrestling Tournament, first at the Hoppel Wrestling Tournament, first at the Ohio Valley Athletic Conference Wrestling Tournament, first at the Eastern Ohio Wrestling Tournament and first at the Buckeye 8 Championship. He was awarded the 2023 Carl Hoppel Award for most Outstanding Wrestler and the Beaver Local Captain's Award and achieved Academic All-Ohio recognition.
In other recent matters, the commissioners gave permission for use of the courthouse parking lot for the Johnny Appleseed Festival Sept. 16 and 17; recognized April as National County Government Month; accepted the terms of the Ohio Ohio Subdivision Settlement regarding the National Opioid Settlement; granted permission for the county engineer to participate in the Ohio Department of Transportation winter salt contract; and approved roadway use and maintenance agreements with Cardinal Gas Services for Georgetown Road and Rochester Road in Butler, Knox and Hanover townships.
For the Columbiana County Department of Job and Family Services, commissioners approved the hiring of Annette Burnham of Hanoverton as a Child Support Enforcement Agency Case Manager-Enforcement Unit, approved changes to the Prevention, Retention, Contingency Plan regarding the 2023 federal poverty level and the summer youth program for sixth, seventh and eighth grades at East Liverpool, Wellsville and Southern Local schools, and approved a memorandum of understanding for DJFS to provide fingerprinting services to the Community Action Agency of Columbiana County to fingerprint CAA employees.
Also for DJFS, commissioners approved an amendment to a contract with Juvenile Court for diversion services, decreasing the unit rate from $35.03 to $32.46. Contracts approved included: Ohio State University, day camps for youth in custody of DJFS, three-year contract from Feb. 1 to Dec. 30, 2025, funding ceiling $60,952 from State Child Protective Allocation; Terry's Furniture Showcase for mattresses and beds for clients/children, $20,000 ceiling March 12, 2023 to March 14, 2024 from Public Children Services Agency (PCSA) funds, Prevention, Retention, Contingency funds or the Senior Services levy; National Youth Advocate Program for adoption services, $12,000 ceiling from March 15, 2023 to June 30, 2024 from PCSA funds.
The next commissioner meeting will be 9 a.m. April 12.