Jefferson County commissioners seek legal help over SR 213 project
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STEUBENVILLE -- Jefferson County commissioners got permission Thursday to secure outside legal counsel as a three-member board rather than individually.
A county official had said it's "in the county's best interest" for the three commissioners to have common legal counsel "advising them on a path forward."
"Right now, they all have individual attorneys looking out for each of their individual interests," a county official said. "...Having one attorney working on behalf of the county is (best)."
Commissioners had retained their own lawyers months ago after the county prosecutor's office had to recuse itself from advising them on an unsanctioned water project on state Route 213 in May because its staff is obligated under state law to represent the water department.
Assistant Prosecutor Shawn Blake, however, this week intervened on their behalf, asking Common Pleas Judge Joseph Bruzzese to allow them to hire independent legal counsel with "full authority to investigate and evaluate all facts, circumstances and chains of events leading to, related to, connected to and/or subsequent to a disputed expenditure that the Board of Commissioners...has determined was not properly authorized."
"Independent legal counsel will have full authority to exercise their independent professional judgment and full authority to represent the (commissioners) as it relates to the disputed expenditure," he said in the petition, which was filed and granted Tuesday.
Commissioners, meanwhile, voted 2-1 to authorize Auditor E.J. Conn to pay a $6,909 invoice submitted for "additional restoration services" related to the controversial SR 213 contract.
Commissioner Eric Timmons, who cast the only "no" vote, said later that he was following the instructions they'd been given in May when Conn learned a contractor was nearly finished with a water line relocation on SR 213 that he knew nothing about because it hadn't been bid out or approved by commissioners, there was no purchase order and no contract had been signed. All three commissioners insist they did not authorize the work to begin.
"I was told we are waiting for the state auditor to tell us the proper procedure on how to pay this correctly," Conn had said after the meeting. "As far as I know, we have not received word as of yet. I never approved the job, so I'm not going to approve an invoice for a job I didn't approve."
ODOT in 2025 notified county officials they needed to move the water line so its crews could work on a hill slip on SR 213 just south of County Road 56 and threatened to shut water service off to about 2,000 customers if it wasn't.
By law, if ODOT determines a water line in a state right-of-way needs moved, it's to be done at local expense. At the time, the state estimated it would cost $1 million to do -- money neither the water department nor commissioners had, so it was forgotten until about four months ago.
The company that ended up doing the work, Border Patrol, proposed a $240,000 alternative -- abandoning the line in the state right-of-way and tying water service for the affected customers into a line near the county's pH adjustment tank. Border Patrol crews also installed a vault near the booster station, including pressure-reducing valves, a flow control valve, a meter, a check valve and gate valves connecting the new infrastructure to the old system.
But Conn in May made it clear to commissioners he cannot authorize payments related to the SR 213 project because the work was done without authorization and "does not meet the statutory requirements for payment."
During Thursday's meeting, Commissioner Tony Morelli was somewhat frustrated that they still don't have a clear path forward.
"I'll make a motion to pay it and if we're not supposed to pay it, somebody tell me what we're supposed to do," he said.
Commissioner Jake Kleineke, however, had no reservations in seconding the motion.
"I'm for paying it," he said. "I'm for paying all of it, actually. As far as I'm concerned, the entire thing was a public service necessity."
Conn pointed out that while commissioners can authorize payment, "It still does not address the actions that did not occur prior to the start of the contract."
"I am glad that they now have the ability to obtain common outside legal counsel," he said after the meeting. "Although they have authorized payment of one invoice associated with the state route 213 project, the proper procurement process was not followed. Additionally, there continues to be the issue of no Auditor's Certificate, purchase order, appropriations, or official action being taken during a public meeting prior to the project start. Therefore, due to Ohio law my hands remain tied on paying any invoice associated with the project at this time."
Commissioners previously had declined to pay invoices totaling about $20,000 submitted by two subcontractors.