LISBON — Bids opened last week for the East Palestine train depot renovation all came in higher than the architect’s estimated cost, with Dynamic Structures of New Waterford submitting the lowest bid at $889,546.

Columbiana County commissioners opened the bids last Wednesday, with part of the funding coming from a $250,000 state grant from the Target of Opportunity Program Community Development Block Grant through the Ohio Department of Development.

Other bidders included: J. Herbert Construction Co., Salem, $953,000; Declan Construction, Brookfield, $961,690; and Brock Buildings, North Lima, $1,010,000.

According to the bid sheet, the architect’s opinion of cost was listed as $815,000.

The project involves rehabilitation and expansion of the existing building, including re-establishment or installation of all utilities with electrical work, new heating and air conditioning and plumbing systems, installation of bathrooms and a commercial kitchen, insulation upgrades, floor repair, utility extensions across the road for new service connections, new storm drainage and sidewalk replacement, building expansion for a walk-in cooler and new concrete patios on the north and south sides of the building.

The county Port Authority is serving as administrator of the grant. The train depot building is owned by the East Palestine Community Improvement Corporation, with the property leased from Norfolk Southern.

The commissioners will turn over the bids for review.

East Palestine Village Manager Antonio Diaz-Guy attended the bid opening and thanked the county commissioners and the Port Authority for their help with this project.

“Each one of these is a step forward,” he said.

In other business, commissioners recently opened bids for the second time for the Hanoverton sewer service line connection project, receiving only one. Murphy Excavating LLC submitted the lone bid totaling $147,000. The port authority is also administering the grant for this project, which totals $190,100 from the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency. The county engineer’s office prepared the specifications for the tap-in work.

Previously three bids had been received the first time around, with all three bids rejected due to insufficient information. Those previous bids included: Murphy Excavating, $139,000; AB Excavating LLC, Kensington, $154,992 and CBC Construction LLC, Wellsville, $142,644. CCPA Project Coordinator Elise Wallace said previously the project will help 15 properties tap into the new sanitary sewer system.

In other action related to projects, the commissioners referred bids for the 2026 county line striping to the county engineer’s office. Two bids were opened at the engineer’s office: Oglesby Construction Inc., $449,593; and Aero-Mark Company LLC, $463,000. The commissioners also approved the seeking of bids for the 2026 county multi-highway paving project. Bids are due July 1.

A fund transfer was approved to the county engineer for $650,000 for upgrades and rehabilitation of the existing maintenance garage, existing engineering office and existing maintenance machine shop for the engineer’s office. The total project is expected to cost $1.7 million, with $1 million in funds already available, with the $650,000 needed to make up the difference.

At the beginning of the most recent meeting, Commissioner Tim Ginter announced that the Ohio Department of Natural Resources hired Rettew to conduct a survey, subcontracting with Garcia Surveyors to use drones to look for abandoned gas and oil wells with no apparent owner throughout the county. Homeowners are supposed to be informed by personnel from the company, mostly in the area of North Georgetown and West Township.

The next meeting of county commissioners will be 9 a.m. Wednesday at the downtown courthouse.