Sheller closing coming

A former industrial site is expected to be off the city’s books in the coming weeks.

During Thursday’s Portland Board of Works meeting, city attorney Wes Schemenaur reported that he plans to work next week on scheduling a closing date with Chad Fifer for the purchase of the former Sheller-Globe south site.

The discussion of the Sheller-Globe property, 510 S. Bridge St., came as board of works members Jerry Leonhard, Steve McIntosh and Mayor Jeff Westlake approved a contract with IWM Consulting Group of Fort Wayne for quarterly monitoring over the next two years. The process is required by Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) in order to assure there are not hazardous substances in the area. The contract is not to exceed $22,313.

Schemenaur said the hope is that once the two years of monitoring is complete and if no issues are found, IDEM will clear the property.

He also noted that the Phase I Environmental Study that was one of the last steps needed to finalize the sale of the property to Fifer has been completed. He added that Fifer’s attorney has indicated readiness to move forward.

The board of works agreed in September 2022 to sell the property to Fifer, the owner of Fifer Services, for $50,000. The process of dealing with environmental issues and contract negotiations followed, with the board approving the final purchase agreement last month. Fifer plans to install a sawmill and in the future expand to include furniture production. (He has been allowed some access to the property through a limited use agreement prior to completion of the sale.)

It has been a long road to selling the Sheller-Globe south site, which the city purchased in October 2014. (TLS by Design bought the former Sheller-Globe north site a year earlier.) It has been mostly vacant since the 1980s.

From 2014 through 2016, there were hints of interest in the property through Jay County Development Corporation, but nothing came to fruition.

Herman Kittle Properties made a proposal to construct senior housing on the site in 2017. The city passed on that opportunity in part because it was storing some of its street department equipment in the building.

In 2019, the city approved selling the Sheller-Globe south site to John Goodhew of Goodhew Roofing and Metals. That agreement was terminated in May 2021 at Goodhew’s request because the city could not provide a clean environmental study, which was a stipulation of the contract. He had planned to renovate the property to manufacture standing seam roofing and carports.

The site was put back up for sale in 2022, with the board of works choosing the offer from Fifer.

As part of the final purchase agreement, the city agreed to follow through on remediation of any currently known environmental issues, including the monitoring by IWM that was approved Thursday. Any future environmental issues that may arise will be the responsibility of the property owner.

The board also briefly discussed holding another meeting next week to address the former Hunt’s Building at 208 and 210 N. Meridian St. The building was declared unsafe in August, with the board opening bids for its demolition in October. At that time, it agreed to pause the process in order to allow Portland Redevelopment Commission time to look into options and costs to save the building.

The issues is on the agenda for Portland Redevelopment Commission’s meeting at 10 a.m. Monday.

JAShroyer Group of Muncie was the only bidder that had the required credentials and certificate of liability insurance to handle the job. It put in an initial bid of $249,000 for the job, but later agreed to reduce that amount to $189,000 as the firm is already in the city taking down and removing debris from the Bailey Building at the southwest corner of Meridian and Commerce streets.

In other business, the board:

•Approved new police chief Dustin Mock’s recommendation to relieve officer Chris Jack of his duties. He was still in his probationary period after being hired in February. Westlake said there were ethical issues that led to the dismissal but did not elaborate further.

•Wrote off outstanding checks of two years old or older totaling $3,116.09. Also wrote off bad debt two year’s old or older of $2,451.62.

•Approved the following: payment of retainage totaling $18,412.34 to Milestone Contractors for a paving project; a contract for Schemenaur to continue serving as city attorney; and a bill adjustment of $163.72 for 307 E. Union St. because of a water leak.