Marinette came out the other side of a settlement on the Community REC Center’s construction issues with about 12000 lineal feet of exterior wall panels, but up until recently hadn’t made a decision on whether they were going to sell them or keep them for their own use. Turns out, they’ll be doing a little of both. Common Council took up the matter last week, discussing if the City might have a use for the material and if not, how much they’d like to get for it. It was suggested that they might consider splitting the panels into three different lots: one of shorter, cut panels, one of longer, uncut panels, and a third of pieces that could be used to potentially rebuild the Ely Street garage. While some questioned whether designing a building around the panels would only create more work, Alderperson Rick Polzin says they have a responsibility to save money where they can.

The panels were worth almost $500000 new and have been put up for sale previously. Bidders last time around offered $5 per linear foot or $13000 for the lot, which the City rejected. City Engineer Brian Miller says he’d like some guidance from the Council on just how much they’re willing to sell the material for.

Council agreed to re-list the panels in two lots of longer and shorter lengths and are hopeful to bring in between $3 and $4 a lineal foot on each lot. Any new bids will still need to be approved by Council before the sale can go through.