Board selects Goodhew’s bid

Portland Board of Works has chosen a new owner for the Sheller-Globe south building. 

At its Thursday meeting, the board selected a bid from Goodhew Roofing and Metals from the four bids it received last month for the property at 510 S. Bridge St. 

John Goodhew bid $50,000 for the property, which has been used to store Portland Street Department equipment but has otherwise been unused for decades. (TLS by Design, a furniture manufacturer, purchased the Sheller-Globe north building in 2013.) The other bids were from Hopkins Global LLC for $80,500, $60,500 from TJ’s Concrete and Excavation, and $60,000 from TJ’s Bicycle & Mopeds Sales. All four bids were opened at the board’s Dec. 19 meeting. 

Board members considered more than just money while evaluating the bids, Portland Mayor Randy Geesaman said. The bidders were required to include a business plan, estimate the number of jobs that would be created and detail renovation work to be completed if selected. 

“The amount of the bid, whether it’s the lowest or the highest, would only be one factor in the final decision,” Geesaman read from a prepared statement Thursday. 

“(Goodhew’s) plan stood out because of the details that they went in to, and investment that would be made at this location. This plan encompassed what we asked for.” 

According to Geesaman, Goodhew intends to produce 250-foot standing seam metal roof pieces and carports at the Sheller-Globe building. 

The board will seek Portland City Council’s approval at its meeting Monday night before moving forward. 

Jay County Development Corporation and the city will be reaching out to the other bidders to see if their business plans can be implemented at other area locations.

Also on Thursday, board members Jerry Leonhard, Bill Gibson and Geesaman: 

•Approved $46,429 of work to place a valve on one of the city’s lift stations and to clean out an area of the lift station that is filled with grit. 

•Declared $760.12 in water and sewage charges as bad debt. Geesaman thanked the water office employees for keeping that number low.