LISBON — The Dennison Management Group of Beloit was the lone bidder for a rehabilitation project at the former Lion and Lamb bookstore on South Broadway Avenue in Salem.

Columbiana County commissioners opened the bid during their meeting Wednesday, with the bid totaling $389,721. The bid will be reviewed before a decision is made on awarding a contract. The private building rehabilitation project is partially funded by a $250,000 grant from the Target of Opportunity Program through the Ohio Department of Development and the Community Development Block Grant program.

The Columbiana County Port Authority is administering the grant and overseeing the project located at 145-165 S. Broadway Ave., Salem. The building is owned by Teldar Real Estate LLC, which must pay part of the cost of the overall rehabilitation project.

Haeden Panezott, of CCPA, said plans include replacement of the roof and code upgrades for electrical and plumbing and Americans with Disabilities Act upgrades.

In other business, three companies submitted bids for the Skyview Acres Cured in Place Pipe (CIPP) Project in Yellow Creek Township through electronic bids opened at the county engineer’s office. The low bidder was Insituform Technologies LLC for $109,995. Other bidders were Insight Pipe Contracting LLC for $115,968 and United Survey Inc. for $125,072. Commissioners took the bids under advisement, with a recommendation for a contract expected next week.

County Chief Deputy Sanitary Engineer Troy Graft said the bids came in well considering the project funding is coming from a $140,000 Ohio Public Works Commission grant, along with a local share that’s required.

He explained the project is being required by the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency to seal up water intrusions into the collection system for the small water treatment plant serving the Skyview Acres residential subdivision. He said the collection system is old and a lot of ground water is running into the vitrified clay pipe.

The project will use a process of placing a pipe within the old pipe from manhole to manhole, which he described as a cloth sock which expands with hot water and activates a resin which then seals the old pipe.

The commissioners also hosted the quarterly meeting of the Investment Advisory Board with county Treasurer Bryan Blakeman, Meeder Investment Management Portfolio Manager Jim McCourt and county Clerk of Courts Anthony Dattilio.

“Our investments are very stable right now,” Blakeman said.

McCourt talked briefly about the Fed and market expectations, noting that “the county’s portfolio looks more and more stabilized for the future.”

STAR Ohio, which is the liquid fund, currently has a balance of $27.6 million, but right now it’s higher because of the recent tax collection. The securities side, which is the investments, totals nearly $120 million with a weighted average yield of 4.01%. As interest rates go down, the county will remain locked in with some of the higher rates with longer term bonds.

McCourt said the investment income has continued to rise, with $1.5 million in 2023, $2.8 million in 2024 and projected to hit nearly $4 million in 2025 and up to $4.2 million in 2026 and $3.8 million in 2027.

Blakeman talked about the recent bids for bank depositories for county money and said JPMorgan Chase was offering 2.5 percent interest for six months on a checking account with no fee, so an account has been opened. He said the account will begin with $2.5 million to see how it works out before making a big change. The county’s checking account is currently through Huntington National Bank, but Blakeman said the fees total $25,000 per year, so he’s considering the change because the county could gain more interest.

Every four years, the county is required to seek bids for depositories and all must be FDIC insured. He said five of the 10 banks in the county submitted bids and at least three of them said they could cover the county’s full amount, including Huntington, WesBanco and JPMorgan Chase.

The depository accounts are used to pay bills. The treasurer’s office also has a custodial account, which is where the investment funds are kept. Blakeman moved that account to US Bank when he first came into office.

In another money matter, commissioners accepted the official certificate of estimated resources from the county Budget Commission, representing all expected income for 2026 and totaling $86.3 million. The funds include the general fund, the special revenue funds, capital projects, debt service, enterprise and internal service which is the escrow fund for the county’s health insurance.

In other matters, commissioners reappointed Joe Shemasek of Consumers National Bank as the county’s representative to the Ohio Mid-Eastern Governments Association Revolving Loan Fund Program Committee, reappointed county Economic Development Director Tad Herold and appointed Butler Township Trustee Paul Lease to the OneOhio Region 11 Board, with county Assistant Economic Development Director Bobby Ritchey appointed as alternate, and approved a second addendum to the memorandum of understanding for the Common Pleas Court security force.

The next meeting of county commissioners will be 9 a.m. Aug. 20 at the downtown courthouse.