Some good news for once.

The Lawrence County Commission Thursday tentatively awarded a bid to Miller Pipeline Corporation for the Union-Rome Sewer System Collection Rehabilitation Project — and, at $3.05 million, the bid came in on the low side of the initial $3 to $5 million estimate.

“Partly, it’s due to competition and there’s a similar project going on in Ironton,” Doug Cade, of E. L. Robinson engineering, explained.

The project, set to begin in January, will rehabilitate or reline old sewer pipes installed in the 1930s and 1940s, Cade said.

Federal stimulus funds will pay for roughly half of the cost of the project. The rest will come from a loan.

Also Thursday, Lawrence County Clerk of Courts Mike Patterson told the commissioners Capital Recovery has forwarded $10,500 to date in years-old unpaid court costs it has collected.

Earlier this year, Patterson contracted with that entity to contact people who owed money to the county’s court system but had not paid various fines and fees they owed.

Capital Recovery does not charge the county for this service. It charges the person who owes the money a fee in addition to the amount they owe the county.

In other matters, the county agreed to send a letter to the Lawrence County Engineer’s Office regarding a hillside slip on County Road 123 (Symmes Creek Road) in Union Township.

Ron Dials of Ohio American Water, told the commission the slip is threatening a water line in that area. The water line has broken three times since June.

The commission also agreed to contact the engineer’s office on the condition of County Road 25 in Elizabeth Township.