COLUMBIANA CO. Prosecutor's office asked to review bids

LISBON -- The Columbiana County prosecutor's office is being asked to review objections raised by a Canfield company over water project bids.
Commissioners referred the matter to the prosecutor's office Wednesday.
At issue are two bids submitted for a Buckeye Water District plan to build a nearly 1.5-mile-long waterline along state Route 45 north of Wellsville in Yellow Creek and Madison townships. The line will serve as a main water supplier once a new water treatment plant is built for the district, a county-based governmental agency.
County commissioners have final say in awarding the project because about $450,000 of funding for it is from a federal grant funneled through the county. The balance of the project will be paid for with a zero-percent interest state loan.
L.E.B. Contracting Inc. of East Palestine submitted the project's lowest bid at $535,796.
Another bidder, United Road and Bridge, Canfield, proposed to do the project for $551,207, Hoppel said.
United is objecting to L.E.B.'s bid because it believes the East Palestine company failed to answer all the inquiries on a questionnaire bidders were required to fill out, Hoppel said.
Some of the questions claimed to be unanswered by L.E.B. addressed the company's history in obtaining performance bonds, its past performance regarding cost overruns and its record of meeting completion deadlines, Hoppel said.