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ST. MARYS - St. Marys officials welcomed their newest patrol officer on Monday, who came to the department fresh off an Ohio State Highway Patrol Training Academy graduation.
Memorial High School graduate Julius M. Fisher was sworn into office at the start of city council's Monday night meeting by Mayor Joe Hurlburt Jr.
Fisher has a bachelor's degree in health and wellness from Mount St. Joseph University, where he was a collegiate football player, police chief Lucas Turpin said. As well, he serves in the U.S. Army Reserves.
Fisher graduated earlier this month with the Ohio State Highway Patrol Training Academy's 153rd Basic Peace Officer Class.
RCS Construction workers in 2020 gutted and saved much of the original wood framing and pillars from the reservoir mill on the Miami-Erie Canal in St. Marys.
Also on Monday, councilors heard from safety service director Greg Foxhoven that the city received six bids for an upcoming interior renovation project at the city's grist mill on East High Street.
The lowest base bid of $739,700 was submitted by Heyne Construction of Minster. Other bids were received from Grand Lake Building Co., H.A. Dorsten, RCS Construction, Westerheide Construction and Muhlenkamp Building Corp.
Foxhoven said they plan to go forward with Heyne's bid, with the addition of three alternates, or project add-ons, that will bring phase 2's project total to $832,700.
"The first alternate is, we have an issue with moisture, and that's primarily because the basement is just mud, it's dirt, and that causes us some issues," Foxhoven said. "Over the last few years, we've had to buy commercial grade dehumidifiers. The moisture-rich environment, it's good for bugs. What we would like to do is have a cement base poured in that basement. It won't be anything fancy, it'll just be a cement pad that'll cover that entire basement area. But that will eliminate that moisture issues that we have that are just causing us a lot of problems."
That alternate was bid by Heyne Construction at $22,700.
The second project alternate they would like to do involves the installation of shiplap siding inside the first floor of the mill for a more rustic look. This add-on comes out to $41,100.
"If we don't do anything, the walls will be finished drywall that will be painted about (like the inside of council chambers)," he said.
The third and final alternate officials are interested in is the installation of subfloor on the second floor of the mill.
"We would like to do the actual subfloor for the second floor, which has a more rustic appearance to it," Foxhoven said. "It needs to be done anyhow if we're going to use the second floor. But this'll just, it'll give it a more rustic appearance overall."
All councilors except for Bob Fitzgerald signaled that they were supportive of the three alternates.
Phase 2 will be funded mainly with $750,000 the city received from the state's capital budget. Additional funds will likely come from the city's lodging tax.
The grist mill was built in 1847 and named a historic landmark in 2010. City officials hope to eventually use the property as a rentable event space. Foxhoven said the engineer previously estimated it could safely hold around 50-60 people.
"We could see (it rented for) class reunions, weddings, baby showers, anything that somebody wants (to use) an indoor space for," Foxhoven said.
Exterior renovations to the Reservoir Mill in St. Marys were completed in 2020.
The mill's exterior was renovated sometime around 2021, Mike Burkholder, city manager of industrial and community development, estimated after the meeting.
That phase involved stabilizing the structure and overall cosmetic upgrades to the exterior, which Burkholder said were desperately needed. It came to around $1.2 million, which was funded with excess revolving loan funds.
"Phase 1 was basically just preserving it, making sure it wasn't going to fall down," he said. "It was in danger of falling down. If there was a stiff wind, we would come to work and half expecting it to be on the ground."
Per the state capital grant, the project must be complete by June.
City council meets next at 6:30 p.m. Feb. 9 in council chambers.
