COLUMBIANA COUNTY Officials approve contractors for municipal courthouse project

Commissioners also accepted a new jail operations contract.
By NORMAN LEIGH
VINDICATOR SALEM BUREAU
LISBON -- Columbiana County commissioners have approved a list of contractors who will be hired to build a new county municipal courthouse next year.
Commissioners agreed Wednesday with the project architect's recommendation of five companies, which bid a total of about $2.7 million. The job is set to begin in spring and take about a year to complete.
The architectural firm, Hanahan, Strollo & amp; Associates Inc. of Columbiana, is advising that contracts be awarded to these companies, all of which were low bidders in their categories:
UGeneral contractor, Vendrick Construction Inc., Brookfield, about $1.9 million.
UPlumbing, Komar Plumbing Co. Inc., Boardman, $77,800.
UFire protection, North Coast Fire Protection Inc., Warren, $49,300.
UHeating and ventilation, York Mahoning Mechanical Contractors Inc., Youngstown, $277,500.
UElectrical, B & amp;J Electric, North Lima, $378,667.
New site
The new building will be located along Saltwell Road in Center Township, north of Lisbon.
It will not replace the county's historical courthouse in downtown Lisbon, which houses common pleas court and several county departments.
The new courthouse will be used by the county municipal court, which is now in three buildings in Lisbon, Salem and East Palestine.
To pay for the new structure, the county will use a court fund fueled by fees defendants paid in criminal and traffic cases.
Jail contract
Commissioners approved a two-year contract with CiviGenics Inc. of Milford, Mass., to continue running the county jail, which the company has done for about six years.
The new contract includes a rate of $48.23 per prisoner per day.
That's about 3 cents lower than what the county is paying under the contract that expires Dec. 31.
Included in the agreement is an option to renew it for two additional two-year terms.
Through November, the county has paid about $2.4 million to house its prisoners this year.
It's budgeting about $2.6 million for the service in 2004 to account for an increase in prisoner medical costs and anticipated boosts in the number of inmates housed at the county jail.
Opposed contract
Commissioner Sean Logan voted against the agreement.
Logan said he is disturbed that CiviGenics helped to write the bid specifications for the new jail contract, which he thinks deterred other private jail operators from bidding.
He said he also is disappointed that Sheriff David Smith didn't submit a bid to have his department operate the lockup.