By Ryan Berry

DailyAdvocate.com

GREENVILLE — The cost and look of the new community center and dog barn at the Darke County Fairgrounds are getting closer to being finalized. The Darke County Agricultural Society’s board of directors met in a special session on Wednesday to approve bids for radiant heat, electric, plumbing, heating and air conditioning (HVAC) and the primary and trim colors for the outside of the building.

The board learned Bruns General Contracting has scheduled the prep work for the second week of March with concrete poured the third week. Director Jim Zumbrink said he would be working to get Bruns and the subcontractors together to develop a timeline for when each piece would be put in place. “Bruns is telling me everything has got to go like clockwork or we’re not going to make it. I said we’ve got to have a home for the dogs if nothing else,” said Zumbrink.

The directors decided to put radiant heat in the floor and chose Sarver Plumbing to do the work. The cost will be $72,000. The board voted 5-4 to approve Sarver Plumbing. Voting against the motion were Dave Singer, Christoph Keller, Heidi May and Greg Pearson. Directors Craig Bowman and Marla Werner were absent.

There was some discussion with the HVAC units on whether to include the heating elements or just use radiant heat as the only heating source. A decision has not been made, but the board will inquire as to the cost savings of removing the heating elements. Some directors felt that it wouldn’t save much money, but leaving the heating elements in would allow the building to heat up quicker than radiant heat alone. A bid from North Star Plumbing & Heating was approved for approximately $65,000. Zumbrink was concerned the bid did not include prevailing wage so the estimate may fluctuate a little.

North Star Plumbing & Heating was also chosen to complete the plumbing work for the new building. The board agreed 9-0 to accept their bid of $43,445. They will provide the plumbing for the men’s and women’s restrooms and the kitchenette.

Bender Electric’s bid for installing electric in the building was accepted with a 9-0 vote. Bender Electric gave a price of $73,600.

The building will have brick at the base of the building. On Wednesday, the board agreed to gray walls above the brick and red trim. The board voted 9-0 on the color of the outside of the building.

The total dollars approved at the special meeting on Wednesday was just over $180,000. This is added to the base bid of $900,753 that was accepted from Bruns General Contracting. The board has also spent $13,696.50 on the removal of several trees and installing a new electrical transformer near the building. Depending on the options the board chose, the cost of the building could also increase another $200,000. Without the options, the cost of the building is approaching $1.1 million.

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.

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