BARNESVILLE — One council member expressed consternation while another remained optimistic after learning that no bids had been received for the village-owned Bohandy Building.

The council meeting held Nov. 4 was set to feature the opening of bids for the large building that occupies the southeast corner of Main and Chestnut streets in downtown Barnesville, but Fiscal Officer Jeannie Hannahs confirmed Mayor Jake Hershberger’s statement that no bids had been received, despite the fact that a number of parties had expressed interest in purchasing the structure before it was advertised for bids.

In August, council received backlash after backing out of selling the building to local businessman Joel Braido for $75,000 after attorney Mike Shaheen had shown interest in the property and reportedly offered $90,000.

This led to council voting in September to advertise the property for public bid.

After learning that no bids had been received, Councilman Steve Hill addressed council about the matter, reminding members of the missed opportunity to sell the building to Braido. He pointed out that Council President Tony Johnson and Councilwoman Robyn Misner voted against that sale despite saying previously that they would approve the deal, according to Hill.

“That makes this council look foolish,” Hill said, later adding, “It’s really a shame. That building is nothing but a liability to this village, and now what are we going to do?”

During the vote on whether to sell the building to Braido in August, only Hill and Councilman Brian Yarnall voted in favor while Councilmen Les Tickhill and Terry McCort voted against the sale along with Misner and Johnson.

Hill also bemoaned the fact that the village let various vendors and organizations use the building to make money during the Pumpkin Festival while the village received nothing.

Councilman Terry McCort offered a more optimistic take on the matter.

“I think there’s great things happening downtown, and I think within a few years something good will happen,” McCort said.

McCort also said he thought it would be easy to sell the building if council didn’t care what the plans were for it, but that he wanted to see something productive for the community go there.

He also said he was not overly concerned with the ongoing expense of maintaining the building, giving as an example the old B&O Railroad Depot that the village owns and maintains.

Yarnall was indignant in responding to McCort’s assertion that he would like to get their money back out of the building, saying, “Do you think we’re going to get our $700,000 out of that building?”

McCort said he didn’t necessarily mean that they would get all the money out of the building that the village had spent on it.

Yarnall added that he thought the reason no one had bid on the building is that it would cost upwards of $2 million to get it up to code and ready for occupancy. Hershberger said he knew that one of the interested parties’ funding source had “backed out due to cost versus return on investment.”

Hershberger said he was glad they had put the building out to bid.

“Now we have a better understanding on our options. I think we should continue moving forward and continue advertising and marketing it and making sure investors know about it,” he said, adding that the Belmont County Port Authority and Community Improvement Corp. were both aware of the building and the village’s desire to sell it.

The village purchased the Bohandy Building, which occupies a prominent location in the heart of downtown Barnesville, in 2018 for $150,000 before authorizing emergency spending to repair the roof and masonry of the structure, citing public safety as officials feared the building could collapse.