Depot Roof Project Approved
A bid to repair the roof of the historic Barnesville Depot was selected and approved during the April 20 meeting of Village Council.
According to Mayor Jake Hershberger, a total of five bids were received for the work, which will consist of removing and relaying the original ceramic tiles on a new underpinning while replacing broken pieces as needed. He recommended that council accept the lowest and “solid bid” from the Gildea Group of Meadville, PA at a cost of $131,991.
Bruce Yarnall, a depot committee member and area historian, was heavily involved in the bidding and selection process. He was on hand during the meeting to address council, along with Steve Sapienza of Gildea.
“I just want to say that I met Steve … and having been in preservation for 30 years, it didn’t take me long to realize that he knows what he’s talking about,” Yarnall said. “… We had to take this to the Ohio Facilities Commission, because we had to have their approval, and this method – the lift and relay – is what the State Historic Preservation Office approved originally.”
Yarnall said he hoped the third time would be the charm, since this marked the third time the project had been put out to bid since April 2025.
Sapienza said while his company is based in Pennsylvania, most of its work is performed in southern states such as South Carolina and Florida, where Spanish-style roofs are more common. He termed the depot effort a “relatively small project.”
“We should be in and out in less than two weeks,” he estimated the timeline after work gets underway.
Sapienza said his firm found the same tile that is currently on the depot roof, so it was able to use those sources for some repurposed tile. He anticipated it would take two to three weeks to ship that tile to Barnesville.
“Once we receive a letter of intent or contract, it could take two to three weeks to get the tile from what we’re hearing right now, and it’s a relatively simple, quick process,” he added.
Yarnall pointed out that the price for the work was lower than anticipated and that the committee still has $75,000 in funding from the state of Ohio along with $5,000 from the Belmont County Tourism Council to help fund the effort. The state funding must be spent by Sept. 30 or the committee will lose it.
Council voted unanimously to accept the bid.
“On behalf of future generations, I thank you,” Yarnall said. “Because people that we don’t even know are going to appreciate the decision you made this evening.”
Meanwhile, Maxwell S. Lum, energy consultant, Small Business Solutions, for American Electric Power, addressed council. He has worked with the village for a few years to secure better electricity rates for community-owned sites. He provided an updated proposal, citing the fact that electricity prices are rising due in part to the development of data centers.
He said the village’s previous three-year agreement with AEP did result in a savings for the community, noting that the village eventually did go back to the market rate. He said some costs have risen 300%.
Lum said circumstances overseas and other global conditions are causing energy markets to fluctuate daily. He said the village’s current contract doesn’t expire until June, but he expects rates to rise around that time. So, he urged council to local in rates for another 36-month contract now. The decision will not affect village residents.
Hershberger pointed out that the village has 55 electric accounts and spends “well over $100,000” annually on electricity.
After some discussion, council approved the proposed agreement and extended it to four years rather than three.
In another matter, council heard more about the newly purchased Long Run Lake after Village Administrator Roger Deal and other community leaders visited the site.
Deal said the road at that location is in such poor condition that it will never be opened to the public, adding that there is a need to clean up trash and debris there. He said the Ohio Department of Natural Resources is willing to add the reservoir to the village’s agreement with the state, which includes patrol by wildlife officers and occasional stocking of fish.
He also said the village is in talks with someone to mow hay on the 400-plus acre property and to mow the lake dam. Council next meets tonight at 7 p.m. at the municipal building, 132 N. Arch Street
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