By Ryan Berry

DailyAdvocate.com

GREENVILLE — The price for the new community center/dog barn at the Darke County Fairgrounds is slowly coming into focus. The board has moved forward with building the 11,900 sq ft building and has chosen Bruns General Contracting of Tipp City to serve as the general contractor for the project.

According to the bid, the project will consist of a poured concrete foundation up to a finished floor, pre-engineered structural building with all walls covered with metal wall panels in color chosen by owner. It will also have a Galvalume standing seam metal roofing system, 6-inch reinforced floor slab in large open area and four-inch in all other areas. Also included is an exterior concrete approach at overhead door and concrete stoops at five exterior walk doors.

According to the bid, the base price bid was $900,753. Depending on the alternate options the board chooses, that bid could rise by over $200,000. The price also does not include the cost of plumbing, HVAC, and electrical.

Some of the checklist items for the new building have already begun, including removing several trees that would have been in the proposed building site. According to the bid from Fitzwater Tree Service, the cost to the board was $4,719 to remove three large trees and seven smaller trees. At a previous meeting, the board agreed to allow Bender Electric to order a transformer that would serve the building. The cost of the transformer is $8,977.50.

At their special meeting on Tuesday, the directors discussed getting bids for plumbing and electric. The board agreed to ask for bids for plumbing but are checking with their attorney to determine if they need to bid out the electric work or if they can use Bender Electric. Bender Electric is under contract with the fairgrounds and serves as the fair’s electrician. Anything over 10 percent of the estimated cost for either service must be approved by the full board. After an executive session, the board emerged and approved a motion to accept bids to install heat into the floor of the building.

The directors are giving its members some leeway when it comes to authorizing change orders for the building. The directors agreed to a motion to allow the fair’s Building Committee to approve change orders up to $5,000. Anything that will cost more than the set limit must be approved by the full board.

The fair has approximately $300,000 from the state grant to help pay for a portion of the project. Nearly $200,000 of the state grant money was used for a water line project required by the City of Greenville. The board will also use funds from a donation from Cargill and the donations received from the Dog Department. It has been repeated at several board meetings that the board does not intend to use funds raised specific to other departments seeking a new building for construction of this project. As for the Cargill funds, the board has been given permission by the company to use the funds for this project.

The board is expected to erect the new building east of the Spiritual Life Center and Fine Arts Building. It is in the area where Greenville Farm Power of the Past hosts their display during the fair.

At the special meeting, the board:

Approved Tim Reck’s proposal to use up to $30,000 which includes the matching OHHA grant money ($10,000) to finish the Harness Horsemen Barn Repair

• Approve the 2024 Budget

• The Livestock Celebration of Achievement and Sale of Grand & Reserve Champion Animals will be held on Wednesday of the 2024 Fair.

• Only market animals, scholarships, and bump ups will go through online sale

• Raised the fair camping rates, except primitive, $10 for all fair week and non-fair camping rate $5 per camper per night.

• Agreed to spend up to $1,000 on fence posts for parking lot signs. And,

• Agree to allow the Amish to repair Barn C not to exceed $5,000

To contact Daily Advocate Editor Ryan Berry, email [email protected].