COLUMBIANA COUNTY Commissioners OK annexation proposal

The county will share the cost of a study to explore sewer fixes in Hanoverton and the surrounding area.
By NORMAN LEIGH
VINDICATOR SALEM BUREAU
LISBON -- East Palestine has received Columbiana County commissioners' approval to annex nearly 40 acres of city-owned property the city intends to develop for housing.
The annexation, authorized Wednesday, affects city-owned land along Padgett Road in Unity Township.
The city proposed the annexation to commissioners last week, but the panel postponed action until it received an opinion from the county prosecutor's office.
East Palestine wants the land made part of the city because it plans to spend about $1 million to install streets, sewers and other infrastructure on the property, which includes a city-owned lake.
The infrastructure investment would be recovered by dividing the land into 50 single-family housing lots and selling them individually.
Septic systems
In other business, commissioners agreed to share with Hanoverton the cost of a nearly $10,000 study that will suggest remedies for failing septic systems in the village, the area surrounding the village and in the unincorporated community of Kensington, southwest of Hanoverton.
The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency has ordered the county and the village to fix the septic problem, which can cause pollution. About 200 households and several businesses are affected by the order.
Several fixes to the sewage problem will likely be suggested by the study, county Engineer Bert Dawson said.
They include constructing a sewage treatment plant in the Hanoverton area or installing lines in which to ship sewage to a county-owned treatment plant along state Route 172 near Guilford Lake in Hanover Township.
It's unclear what those options would cost. The study will estimate expenses, Dawson said.
The village and county will seek federal and state grants and loans for the sewer project. User fees will be used to pay any loans taken out.
Annexation
In other action, commissioners approved annexing into Salem a housing lot at 1264 N. Lincoln Ave.
The lot, occupied by the home of Lawrence and Gina Lang, was in Perry Township.
The Langs agreed with the city to seek annexation in exchange for being allowed to tie into the city's sewer system.