News File Photo The former Alpena County Jail is seen in this News file photo.

ALPENA — The Alpena County Board of Commissioners is one step closer to selling the old jail on Johnson Street in Alpena.

Only two bid proposals were submitted before the 4 p.m. deadline on Tuesday. Now the commissioners will determine who to sell the property to.

The commissioners are also seeking more information from Alpena County Animal Control Officer Michelle Reid about her request to use the old building as an animal shelter, but it doesn’t appear there is enough support for that project to have it move forward.

The bids were submitted by Alpena Marc and BCubed Manufacturing owner Jeff Konczak who is willing to pay $229,029 for the property, plus the cost to have the building removed.

In his proposal, Konczak said he intends to build a park where food and drinks are available, including having cubestyle, drive thru facilities for Quiznos, Biggby Coffee, and a Taco Del Mar.

The second bid was submitted by MyMichigan Health which would pay $210,000 and cover the demolition cost of the old jail.

The health system intends to relocate and expand its orthopedic and rehabilitation services into a new building on the property.

Commissioner Bob Adrian said he believes both proposed projects are good ones, but added the board must now weigh which will benefit the county financially the most, while making sure the one chosen is best for the community.

“I’m pleased we got bids and now it will be up to the board to discuss and decide the viability and fit,” he said.

Adrian said he isn’t sure operating the old jail as an animal shelter is in the cards though. Although Reid’s idea is a good one, Adrian said, and done with good intentions, the amount of investment needed and future costs to operate the facility are likely too much for the county to absorb right now.

“When you look at it at face value it is a good idea, but the county would have a tremendous amount of overhead from it and I don’t think the county would generate the revenue from it to cover the costs,” Adrian said. “The cost of running that building would just be unreasonable.”

In 2017, voters in Alpena County approved a 20-year tax proposal to have a new $11.4 million facility constructed on M-32.

Operations from the old jail moved into the new facility last year and the old jail is currently unused.

Steve Schulwitz can be reached at 989-358-5689 at sschulwitz@thealpenanews.com. Follow him on Twitter @ss_alpenanews.com.