T-L Photo/MIRANDA SEBROSKI Mary Jo Westfall, Ohio State University Extension associate, opens bids Monday for an agricultural learning center that will be built at the Monroe County Fairgrounds in Woodsfield. Companies that placed bids were PCS Builders LLC, Wolf Creek Contracting Co. LLC, Grae-Con Construction Inc., and Hostetler Buildings LLC.

WOODSFIELD — Monroe County officials took another step toward making a planned building a reality on Monday.

Bid openings for construction of an agricultural learning center in Woodsfield began during a Monroe County Board of Commissioners meeting. Mary Jo Westfall, Ohio State University Extension associate for the county, attended the commissioners’ meeting to open bids from various companies. PCS Builders LLC, based in Cleveland, bid for $769,000; Wolf Creek Contracting Co. LLC of Waterford, Ohio, placed a bid of $1,108,800; Grae-Con Construction Inc. from Marietta, Ohio, bid $1,292,000; and Hostetler Buildings LLC of Adamsville, Ohio, bid $890,000. No immediate decision was made to accept a bid or to close the bidding process, and commissioners said they need to look over their options.

“We will have to examine the bids and see where we are going from here,” Commissioner Carl Davis said. “We appreciate everyone’s interest, and we will be seeking advisement to see where we go from here.”

Westfall said she is planning to meet with county Prosecutor James Peters to discuss some options for construction of the building, but she is happy that the project continues to move forward.

The building was first proposed to commissioners in late 2017. In September, Westfall first asked approval from commissioners to start the bidding process for the construction of the building, and commissioners voted unanimously in favor of her doing so. The county has received $100,000 from the state of Ohio’s capital improvement budget for work on the agricultural learning center. Westfall has not yet announced any other sources of funding for the building.

Westfall has been working with Bryan Kline, an architect for Tekton Engineering. The planned building is expected to serve as a place for agricultural education at the fairgrounds in Woodsfield. It will also house the OSU Extension Service for Monroe County, the Monroe County Soil and Water Conservation District, and the Monroe County Agricultural Society, since the building will have various rooms available.

There will be a large area that can serve as a conference room as well as a space for 4-H programs and agricultural meetings. Westfall previously said she had looked at location options in the village but could not find any space large enough to fit the needs of the building, so the fairgrounds seemed like the perfect fit.