T-L Photo/GAGE VOTA Belmont County Commissioner Vince Gianangeli listens as Commissioner Jerry Echemann says tariffs are responsible for the rising cost of construction of the new Belmont County Health Department building.

ST. CLAIRSVILLE – Belmont County Commissioner Jerry Echemann said tariffs are raising the cost of construction of a new Belmont County Health Department building.

He then moved to approve two change orders from Grae-Con Construction Inc.

The first change order is for the future health department facility in the increased amount of $7,976 due to additional charges per tariff costs incurred by a supplier. The second hange order in the increased amount of $8,638 is for the installation of solenoid valves, push buttons and pass through cabinets for rooms 135 and 136 for drug screening purposes.

Echemann added that the new contract total is $10,722,120.

“These change orders are not uncommon at all in these construction projects. This one is being handled by Grae-Con, and the first one is almost $8,000 and it’s because of the tariffs that were put in place and resulted in some more expensive costs that had to be incurred,” Echemann said.

And the other change order is for rooms 135 and 136 for the health department. These are bathrooms, but there are bathrooms where they do samples for drug testing and things of that nature. So you need certain things to make sure that these tests are accurate.”

The orders were approved.

Next, Echemann moved to approve and sign an agreement for the deposit of public funds with Huntington National Bank for the deposit of active, inactive and interim funds of up to $10 million for the four-year period from July 1, 2025, to June 30, 2029.

“The treasurer’s office holds the money for the county, and they deal with quite a few banks with Huntington being one of them,” Echemann said. “The act of renewal just allows us to do business with Huntington.”

That motion also was approved.

Echemann then moved to approve project modification number three from the Mannik Smith Group, which was formerly known as Wallace Pancher Group, for the upcoming Belmont County Courthouse beautification project. The modification will be for new construction documents and engineering services in the amount of $3,000 for additional design work. The newly approved contract total is $451,120.

“This is for our courthouse plaza project, which we hope will get underway at some point fairly soon,” Echemann said. “As you may know, we’ve decided to name the new plaza the Veterans Plaza once we get it done.”

He then announced that the board of commissioners is accepting applications to fill a position on the Workforce Development Board Area 16 as well as accepting applications to fill a position on the Mental Health and Recovery Board. Echemann said interested parties may stop in or call the commissioners’ office at 740-699-2155 to request an application.

Finally, the board announced it will hold its next regular meeting at 8:30 a.m. on Tuesday, June 17, instead of the usual 10 a.m. Wednesday, June 18, due to a scheduling conflict.