LISBON — Dilapidated properties in the southern part of the county will come down soon.

The Columbiana County Land Reutilization Corporation Board of Directors awarded bids to demolish five properties in Wellsville as part of the second round of demolitions under Ohio Department of Demolition and Site revitalization program and nine in East Liverpool under the third round during the board’s meeting on Wednesday.

Veterans Energy & Construction in East Liverpool was awarded the Wellsville demolition with a bid of $42,500. The next lowest bid was Tom Sykes Construction at $52,000.

Tom Sykes Construction won the East Liverpool demo jobs with a bid of $73,310.

The contract with Veterans Energy came with a stipulation — a disabled trackhoe that has been on a land bank site in East Liverpool for over a year must be removed first. If the equipment is not removed, Tom Sykes Construction will be awarded the Wellsville demolitions as well.

In other demo news, the board announced the demolition of a property at 709 Newgarden Avenue. That home was set to come down on Thursday but was postponed as Ohio Edison had not disconnected utilities to the structure.

The board also discussed county brownfield sites – the Miller Holzworth project in Salem and a former gas station on East Taggart Street in East Palestine.

“The Miller Holzworth site in Salem is still progressing. That was a $219,000 testing grant,” County land bank Executive Director Tad Herold said. “We have also entered into a contract with Burchenson Michael for the Taggart Street property in East Palestine and that’s $780,000 in abatements that will coincide with some EPA work.”

The project in Salem is focused on the former Freedom Oil Works and an auto repair garage, and includes environmental assessment and soil and groundwater sampling to prepare the site for commercial or industrial redevelopment. The land bank currently owns the property but it will be given back to the previous owner once remediation is complete.

The funds allotted to East Palestine will be used to clean up and remediate the site of a former gas station at 448 E. Taggart St. and repurpose the property for future commercial use. The remediation is unrelated to the 2023 Norfolk Southern train derailment, but rather part of an initiative to make a brownfield site operational for economic development activity.

“It’s close to but associated with the derailment,” Herold clarified. “It’s a site previously a brownfield site, and it’s very near the derailment so that’s why we are coordinating with the Ohio EPA.”

Also at the meeting, the board:

— Approved Tim Ginter as a new board member.

— Approved a motion allowing the executive director to enter into contracts of $150,000 or less without requiring board approval by a 4-2 vote.

— Reported that Welcome Home Ohio Leetonia received $1.6 million to build six new houses and resell the homes.

— Learned that an abandoned gas station grant in Columbiana is nearly complete and that a brownfield project at 631 W. State St. in Salem will be funded by a recent $220,000 brownfield grant for assessment and removal of two underground storage tanks.

— Agreed to consolidate two checking accounts into one – transferring the residual funds to the general account.

— Approved a mow-to-own agreement with Stephen Zedak for a lot at 511 18th St. in Wellsville. If Zedak maintains the property for one year, the land bank will transfer its ownership to him.

— Reported it is working with a real estate agent in East Palestine as the group “purchases, rehabs and resells” in the village to make sure all guidelines are followed as part of a program in the village.

selverd@mojonews.com