St. Marys council hears bids for gristmill project; three alternates would add $82,700

City officials on the St. Marys City Council discussed bids and scope options Tuesday for a long-running rehabilitation of the gristmill, with staff saying six bids were submitted and one came in under the $750,000 grant amount.

Unidentified Speaker (S3), the project representative, told the council that three alternates — pouring a cement pad in the basement to address moisture, installing shiplap-style interior siding instead of painted drywall, and finishing the second-floor subflooring — would together increase the project cost by $82,700. "Of that, Mister Brookhort has indicated that our lodging tax could pay a third of it," S3 said, as transcribed.

The speaker said the project has relied heavily on a revolving loan fund for earlier phases and estimated roughly $1,200,000 had been used in prior phases, with relatively little direct city general-fund spending to date. S3 said the space would be rentable for events and that staff expected a desirable, rustic rental space.

Council members asked staff about parking, capacity and historic displays. Unidentified Mayor (S1) noted the parking lot is already paved and S3 said the space measures about 60 by 40 feet (roughly 2,400 square feet) and could accommodate about 50–60 people depending on setup. S3 also referenced potential historic displays from the Miami Erie Canal Corridor Association and historian "Bob Mapely," as transcribed.

When asked for a show of hands to indicate support for proceeding with the three alternates, council members raised their hands; the transcript records the show of hands but no formal roll-call or recorded vote on the alternates.

Next steps: staff asked for council support to move forward and the record shows informal support by show of hands in the meeting transcript; no formal approval or contract award for the alternates appears in the transcript.