SIDNEY — Shelby County Agricultural Society board members, engineers and commissioners met Thursday with contractors who have expressed interest in bidding to construct a new, 1,480-seat grandstand on the Shelby County Fairgrounds.

The previous grandstand did not meet insurance regulations and was demolished in January. The fair board rented bleachers for use during the 2016 county fair.

Thursday’s pre-bid meeting gave all participants a chance to discuss specifications and to make suggestions.

Representatives of construction firms and manufacturers in Kentucky, Nebraska, Texas, Florida, Michigan, New York and Sidney attended the session. Final specifications will be distributed Dec. 19 and bids are due Dec. 22. They will be opened during a regular meeting of the county commissioners at 11 a.m. that day.

Local officials then have 30 days to award a contract. The due date for completion of the grandstand is May 1.

Shelby County Engineer Bob Geuy said that a pre-bid meeting of potential bidders is not unusual.

“If we have a complex job with nonstandard circumstances, we try to get a pre-bid meeting,” he noted.

The group considered questions about plans for the grandstand’s seats, walkways, deck, aisles, wage rates and soil bearing-capacity.

Fair board President Mitch Brautigam said that fundraising for the project is ongoing. According to Secretary Jerry Schaffner, the board has raised $246,000 in grants, $175,000 in pledges and $69,000 in cash donations.

The engineer’s estimate of the cost of the grandstand as specified for bid is $530,000. The estimate does not include lighting of the track or electricity in the grandstand.

Donors can contribute to the project by contacting the Community Foundation of Shelby County at 497-7800.