SIDNEY — Shelby County Commissioners opened five envelopes, Thursday, Aug. 30, in a second round of bidding for a contract to construct a new animal shelter.

They took all five bids under advisement on a vote of two in favor and one abstention. Commissioner Julie Ehemann abstained because she sits on the board of the Shelby County Animal Rescue Foundation (SCARF), which has been raising money for what will be the Bob Sargeant and Family Shelby County Animal Shelter and Adoption Center.

When it was put out for bid in late spring, no bids were returned. On June 11, which was when bids were to have been opened, Architect John Freytag theorized that market forces had driven up the cost of materials, resulting in a prebid estimate of project costs that were too low for contractors to meet. In addition, “local contractors are all busy,” Freytag said, then.

On Thursday, Architect Dan Freytag read the bids to a full house in the commission chamber in the Shelby County Annex. Attending were representatives of the bidding firms, representatives of SCARF, major donor Bob Sargeant and Shelby County Sheriff John Lenhart. The sheriff’s office manages the county animal shelter.

Following June 11, Freytag and Associates went back to the drawing board to make changes to the plans. The result was an estimated cost of $2,610,000 for construction, which included site work, general construction, plumbing, HVAC, electrical, casework, animal shelter equipment and a contingency amount.

To be rebid as alternates were the under slab kennel floor heating system, porcelain tile floor and base for the reception areas; and HVAC equipment.

The base bids were written to include specific HVAC equipment. Choosing other HVAC suppliers was an option in the alternate bids. In all five cases, the alternate choice of Trane equipment would lower the base bid; the choice of Carrier equipment would increase it.

In addition to the base amount, bidders were required to provide unit costs for items that could exceed what is included in the base amount. Those units were removal of unsatisfactory soil, importing fill materials, providing reinforcing steel bars and providing lean concrete, which is used for sidewalks.

Contractors were also asked to specify how long it would take them to complete the build.

The bids opened Thursday are as follows:

• By Muhlenkamp Building Corp., of Coldwater: $2,762,299 base bid; an additional $14,000 kennel floor heating system; an additional $18,000 for reception are tile floor; a decrease in the base bid of $18,000 for Trane HVAC; and additional $8,000 for Carrier HVAC. The unit prices were $21 per cubic yard for soil removal; $21 per cubic yard for fill materials; $1,100 per half-ton of steel bars and $138 per yard of concrete. Building time was listed as 294 days.

• By Westerheide Construction, of Sidney, $2,698,500 base bid; an additional $7,500 kennel floor heating system; an additional $17,300 for reception are tile floor; a decrease in the base bid of $17,000 for Trane HVAC; and additional $7,200 for Carrier HVAC. The unit prices were $12 per cubic yard for soil removal; $32 per cubic yard for fill materials; $750 per half-ton of steel bars and $200 per yard of concrete. Building time was listed as 330 days.

• Brumbaugh Construction, of Greenville, $2,733,000 base bid; an additional $7,000 kennel floor heating system; an additional $19,000 for reception are tile floor; a decrease in the base bid of $3,300 for Trane HVAC; and additional $15,000 for Carrier HVAC. The unit prices were $20 per cubic yard for soil removal; $40 per cubic yard for fill materials; $650 per half-ton of steel bars and $35 per yard of concrete. Building time was listed as 365 days.

• Ferguson Construction, of Sidney, $2,851,472 base bid; an additional $12,996 kennel floor heating system; an additional $17,474 for reception are tile floor; a decrease in the base bid of $19,406 for Trane HVAC; and additional $7,637 for Carrier HVAC. The unit prices were $14 per cubic yard for soil removal; $16 per cubic yard for fill materials; $1,565 per half-ton of steel bars and $170 per yard of concrete. Building time was listed as 225 days.

• HA Dorsten Inc., of Minster, $2,854,900 base bid; an additional $12,600 kennel floor heating system; an additional $16,960 for reception are tile floor; a decrease in the base bid of $15,000 for Trane HVAC; and additional $7,272 for Carrier HVAC. The unit prices were $13.50 per cubic yard for soil removal; $34.25 per cubic yard for fill materials; $1,800 per half-ton of steel bars and $135 per yard of concrete. Building time was listed as 345 days.

Lenhart thanked the bidders for submitting to the project.

Commissioner Tony Bornhorst thanked SCARF “for everything you have done to move this project forward. We’re not there yet, but another step forward. It’s a great day for Shelby County,” he said.

SCARF’s fundraising goal of $2,400,000 has not changed. As of Thursday, the group had raised $2,361,612.50, which is 98.4 percent of the goal.

The commissioners plan to vote on awarding a contract during their regular Sept. 6 meeting at 9 a.m.