New life for old Sheller building?

The Sheller-Globe building may get a new lease on life. 

Portland Board of Works on Wednesday opened four bids and business plans for the building, which is currently being used as a storage space for the Portland Street Department.

It also approved a change order for continued work on the city’s wastewater treatment plant. 

City officials have considered demolishing the Sheller-Globe building, located at 510 S. Bridge St., in recent years, and the property at one point was considered for an apartment complex.

“For many years we’ve had to decide what to do about the Sheller-Globe building,” Portland Mayor Randy Geesaman said. “They don’t build structures like they did back in the ’40s and ’50s when the Sheller-Globe was, so we kind of held off.”

Instead, the city sought ideas for ways to renovate and reuse the building. Bidding closed on Friday, with bidders required to submit a business plan including their intended use of the building, planned renovations and the number of jobs that would be created. 

The lowest bid was from Goodhew Roofing Services in Ridgeville, for $50,000. TJ’s Bicycle & Mopeds Sales in Portland bid $60,000. TJ’s Concrete and Excavation, also in Portland, bid $60,500, and Hopkins Global LLC, Dunkirk, bid $80,500. 

The dollar amount is just one of the things the city will consider when examining the bids, Geesaman said. 

“It’s not necessarily who’s the highest bidder, it’s who gives us the best overall plan that should be the benefit to the city,” he said. “We have to take each of these categories into consideration before we give out the final bid.” 

If the property is purchased, Geesaman said the city will work out an agreement to keep the street department’s equipment there until another storage facility can be constructed. 

The board chose to table the bids until its next meeting.

It has the right to refuse all bids. 

Also on Wednesday, board members Jerry Leonhard, Bill Gibson and Geesaman approved a change order for the wastewater treatment plant, which is undergoing renovations by Jutte Excavating and Jones and Henry Engineering. 

The companies sought to add a chemical feed storage facility for $62,000. It’s necessary for the current renovations, said plant superintendent Brad Clayton, but will also address a phosphorous issue the city will have to deal with in the coming years. 

“In our permit we have three years to actually start dealing with phosphorous but while we’re in the middle of construction we decided this is the way,” Geesaman added.

The change order will still leave the city under budget for the project, Geesaman said. 

In other business, board members: 

•Approved bids from NAPA  and AgBest Agriculture for oil supplies. Superintendents will choose the lower-priced item from the two lists of materials when purchasing. The board also accepted a bid from Village Pantry to provide fuel for city vehicles and will receive a discount based on how much fuel is purchased each month, up to 7 cents off per gallon. 

•Approved a two-month leak adjustment for $138.20 for 515 N. Meridian St.