LISBON — The Columbiana County Port Authority Board of Directors recently awarded the contract for the Quality Liquid Feeds molasses storage project at the Wellsville Intermodal Facility to W.E. Downie Company Inc. of Poland for $826,968.

This was the second time the project was bid out after the board rejected the first bids for exceeding the engineer’s estimate of the cost by more than 10 percent.

The only other bid received and opened on May 15 came from Dynamic Structures Construction Inc., New Waterford, for $1,052,227.

The original bids were $828,240 from Dynamic Structures and $1,391,177 from W.E. Downie Company Inc., with an engineer’s estimate of $725,000. The engineering firm, Howells & Baird, revised the plans and prepared a new bid package for the project.

Quality Liquid Feeds, which manufactures liquid feed supplements for animals, was awarded a Maritime Assistance Program grant last year for $303,404 for the 65-foot by 40-foot storage tank to store molasses, adding 6,000 tons of additional storage capacity and allowing the company to move and store more molasses and feed plus additional byproduct.

At the same time, Pier 48, also along the Ohio River, had received a MAP grant of $72,627 for a project of its own, but CCPA Assistant Executive Director Brittany Smith said Monday that due to rising costs, Pier 48 wasn’t moving forward with its project.

The board and the Ohio Department of Transportation, which handles the Maritime Assistance Program, came to an agreement, which the board approved Monday, to transfer the MAP grant for Pier 48 to the Quality Liquid Feeds project, making the new amount for the Quality Liquid Feeds MAP grant to $375,666.

MAP grants cover up to 50 percent of a project cost, with the company covering the rest of the cost. CCPA fronts the money for the grants, then is reimbursed by the state. In this case, the share that Quality Liquid Feeds must pay totals $451,302.

In other business, the board renewed the lease agreement with the Columbiana County Office of Economic Development for office space at the Port Authority building, 7860 Lincole Place, Lisbon for a one-year term from July 1, 2025 to June 30, 2026, increasing the amount of space leased from 750 square feet to 906 square feet at a cost of $1,047 per month effective retroactive to May 5 this year.

Smith updated board members on activities since the last board meeting, including two grant applications. The first was through the Ohio Mid-Eastern Governments Association for $250,000 though the Appalachian Regional Commission/GOA Area Development Program to support the CCPA Downtown Building Revitalization and Signage Pilot Program. The second was submitted to the Port Infrastructure Development Program (PIDP) requesting $2,654,052 to assist SH Bell Company with a dock expansion project. She said this was the second attempt to get PIDP funding. She also said there’s solid progress on projects CCPA is administering on behalf of the county commissioners, with all three 2024 Community Development Block Grant projects under contract and a Flex grant project preparing to go out for bid in the coming weeks for the former Lion and Lamb bookstore building on South Broadway Avenue in Salem.

A Job Opportunities section will be launched soon on the CCPA website as part of a revitalization of the Business Retention & Expansion Program in an effort to address workforce challenges for companies. Smith said the new feature “will allow local businesses to submit job openings, which we will promote — complete with direct links to applications — to help connect them with qualified candidates.”

As part of the refresh of the Business Retention & Expansion Program, she said 30 manufacturing businesses have been identified that they’ll reach out to with meetings by the end of the year. So far there have been meetings with six of the companies, with three leading to possible project opportunities shared with Lake to River.

Smith also announced that CCPA, in collaboration with the Columbiana County Career & Technical Center and MAGNET (Manufacturing Advocacy and Growth Network), launched the first Manufacturing the Future Awards, with six students from the Welding and Machining programs recognized across three categories, Most Employable, Most Improved and Most Innovative. The students received the awards last month and also received scholarships funded by MAGNET and CCPA to cover items such as work boots, uniforms, tools and other items needed to get started in a manufacturing company.

Two commemorative gear-shaped plaques were installed outside the school’s machining lab to honor the achievement.

The next CCPA meeting will be 5 p.m. July 28 at the Port Authority building on Lincole Place, Lisbon.

mgreier@mojonews.com