Lawrence County commissioners table recreation maintenance bids, approve RACP agreement and routine budget and contract measures

Lawrence County commissioners on Tuesday, March 11, 2025, voted to table two bids for maintenance of county recreational areas to allow staff review, approved a required agreement tied to a Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program grant for an industrial expansion in Shenango Township, and adopted several routine financial and contract measures.

The action to table bids followed a public bid opening. County Controller David Restefine said the county received two proposals for mowing, trimming and trash collection: one from BeyondCorp of Edinburg, Pennsylvania, and one from Piant's Landscaping of Newcastle, Pennsylvania. Restefine reported, "We got two," and read a total figure aloud for one submission as "$700,960." Planning Department staff said they would need time to review the submissions before recommending an award; the board then voted to table the bids for further review.

The board also approved Resolution 50, an agreement between the county and the local economic development corporation that is required by the Pennsylvania budget office for projects funded through the Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program (RACP). Commissioners said the agreement supports phase 2 of an expansion by Steelite at the Millennium Park site in Shenango Township; the project was awarded a $3.5 million grant from the Commonwealth. Commissioners noted that counsel had been copied on the agreement and that the county solicitor had not raised objections in the email chain.

Other approved measures included a renewal contract for…