LISBON — The project to help qualifying residents connect to the new sewer system in Hanoverton is finally starting after Columbiana County commissioners recently awarded the contract to Murphy Excavating LLC for $147,000.

Murphy submitted the lone bid the second time around after the project was rebid this spring.

Chief Deputy Sanitary Engineer Troy Graft of the county Engineer’s Office said the contract is for 120 days, with completion of the work expected in October/November.

Three bids were previously received, but rejected in April by the engineer’s office which said they were incomplete or unresponsive. Those bids ranged from $139,000 to $154,992.

Funding is coming from the Overflow Sewer Grant Program, aimed at connecting qualifying Hanoverton residents to the new sanitary sewer system using a grant totaling $190,100 secured from the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency. The county Port Authority is administering the grant while the county engineer’s office prepared the specifications for the tap-in work.

CCPA Project Coordinator Elise Wallace said the project will help 15 properties tap into the new sanitary sewer system.

In other business, commissioners gave permission for the county engineer to advertise for bids for the Kensington state Route 9 south sanitary sewer extension project in Hanover Township. Electronic bids will be opened at 9 a.m. on July 29 at the engineer’s office in Lisbon.

Graft said the project will include 2,000 feet of 8-inch line and 1,600 feet of 2-inch line from the end of the sewer, with the sewer extension stretching from the end of the sewer system in Kensington south to the county line and include state Route 9 and Montgomery Road. The project will include a pump station and affect 14 homes.

According to Graft, people along there have been requesting this since the Kensington treatment plant was installed.

The project will be covered by American Rescue Plan Act funds, he said.

Commissioners also accepted the two bids submitted for the county’s multi-highway paving project for the summer. The Shelly Company-Northeast Division submitted the low bid for $2,554,381. The other bid, from Shelly & Sands, Inc., totaled $2,728,548.

In other matters, commissioners approved three right-of-way permits for installation of fiber optic lines by Charter/Spectrum on Gavers Road in Hanover Township, Fairfield School Road in Fairfield Township and Clarkson Road in Middleton Township and Elkun Township. A contract was approved with the Jefferson County Educational Service Center for Family and Children First Council Coordination within Opportunity School and Bridging Possibilities classrooms for the county Department of Job and Family Services. The contract period is from July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027 with a spending ceiling of $30,000.

The next meeting of commissioners is 9 a.m. today at the downtown courthouse.