LISBON — The Columbiana County commissioners approved two new appointments — one for the county Port Authority Board and one for the Buckeye Water District — replacing a current member on each board whose terms are expiring Dec. 31.

East Liverpool area resident David Bickerton was appointed to a four-year term on the county Port Authority Board to replace longtime member Keith Chamberlin of Columbiana, with commissioners also reappointing Tad Herold of Columbiana to the board for another four years.

In a letter to county commissioners, Bickerton expressed interest in serving on the board, writing that he believes “my financial acumen and business background would add value to the board’s mission of business development.”

For the Buckeye Water District, commissioners appointed East Liverpool area resident Nicholas Wise to a six-year term on the board, replacing Tim O’Hara of East Liverpool. Wise serves as utility superintendent for the Columbiana County water and sewer department through the county Engineer’s Department, managing day-to-day operations and administering, reviewing and inspecting several current public utility expansion and rehabilitation projects through the county. He wrote in a letter to commissioners that his experience would prove beneficial to the county and the board.

Commissioner Tim Weigle said it’s good to change board members sometimes. When asked if the appointment of a county employee, Wise, was a conflict, he said “to the best of our knowledge, it’s not a conflict.”

He acknowledged that the late Roy Dray, who previously worked as chief engineer for the county Engineer’s Department and with the water and sewer department, also served on the BWD board.

In other business, commissioners delivered some good news for the Columbiana County fair board, approving an expense of $150,000 through the American Rescue Plan Act for the fairground bleachers. Replacing those bleachers across from the grandstand had been a goal of the fair board.

Other ARPA expenses approved included: $165,591 for Selectus Consulting to upgrade the county’s network for computers and Voice Over Internet Protocol system; $47,824 to replace two outdated computer servers for the county auditor’s office; and $50,000 for the Walker Allotment drainage project in West Township.

Commissioners agreed to accept all bids submitted by the county engineer for various types of gasoline, diesel fuel and kerosene, but reject all bids for various types of slag, gravel, crushed limestone, asphalt and ice control material and advertise for new bids for those materials to be used by the county highway department in 2025. The new bids will be opened on Dec. 27. County Engineer Bert Dawson explained that the bidders forgot to include #6 stone in their bids, which is a type of stone used a lot by the engineer’s office, so they decided to seek new bids so that stone will be included. He noted the #6 stone was included in the specifications.

Commissioners also gave authorization for the county Auditor’s Office to contract with the Stark County Auditor’s Office for weights and measures inspection services at a cost of $35,000. The relationship with Stark County to perform weights and measures inspections began in 2021.

Commissioners approved an Ohio deferred compensation Roth 457 adoption agreement for county employees.

The commissioners will meet again at 9 a.m. Dec. 11 in the downtown courthouse.