Columbiana County opens new bids for waterline pact

LISBON -- Four companies are seeking the contract to install a waterline after the project was rebid in a dispute over the bid submission process.
The lowest bid received Wednesday by Columbiana County commissioners was from L.E.B. Contracting, East Palestine, which submitted a price of $522,881.
In the first round of bidding, which occurred weeks ago, L.E.B. had bid $535,795, which also was the lowest.
L.E.B.'s first bid was disputed, however, by the next lowest bidder in the initial round, United Road and Bridge Co., Canfield. United offered to do the job for $551,207.
United argued L.E.B.'s first bid should have been tossed because the company failed to submit a required questionnaire with its price.
The county prosecutor's office advised commissioners to scrap all the initial bids and seek new ones, resulting in Wednesday's bid opening.
United didn't submit a second-round bid.
The other bids were: J.R. Contracting Inc., McMurray, Pa., $698,398; Craig Edward Susany Inc., North Lima, $622,967; and the James White Construction Co., Weirton, W.Va., $672,232.
The project entails putting in a 1.5-mile-long waterline in Madison and Yellow Creek townships to serve the Buckeye Water District, which supplies water to customers in the southern part of the county.