Otter Tail County seeks bids for first phase of Phelps Mill Store renovations

Otter Tail County has put the next piece of the Phelps Mill restoration on the market, asking contractors to price the first phase of repairs to the historic store building at Phelps Mill Park. Sealed bids will be accepted until 1:00 p.m. Tuesday, June 2, 2026, by the County Auditor, then opened and read publicly in the Phelps Mill Room at the Otter Tail County Government Services Center in Fergus Falls.

The bid package lays out a narrow but important scope: selective demolition, foundation repair and re-roofing for the Phelps Mill Store Historical Renovation. The plans and specifications were prepared by Widseth of Perham, and the project is being treated as a prevailing wage job. Contractors must submit bid security equal to 5% of the proposal amount, and the winning bidder will be required to furnish payment and performance bonds equal to 100% of the bid amount.

County documents describe the work as phase one of planned renovations for the historic Phelps Mills store building. A pre-bid meeting is set for 10:00 a.m. CST on May 12, giving prospective bidders a chance to review the project before the June deadline. For the county, the public opening is the clearest signal yet that preservation work is moving from planning into construction.

The store project extends a larger preservation effort at Phelps Mill, where the mill building itself has already been stabilized and restored. The site began as the Maine Roller Mills, after William E. Thomas bought the land in 1886, built a dam in 1887 and started construction in 1889. The mill opened in December 1889 and was designed to produce 60 to 75 barrels of flour a day before closing permanently in 1939. Otter Tail County bought the mill and surrounding land in 1965 for parkland.

That earlier mill restoration was not minor. County officials said in 2022 the building had been closed for repairs beginning Jan. 24, 2022, after more than 26 years of abandonment before county ownership. The work was backed by a $140,000 Minnesota Historical Society grant and a $275,000 State Capital grant, and the restored mill reopened in June 2023. County Parks and Trails Director Kevin Fellbaum said the foundation repairs kept the building from potentially ending up in the Otter Tail River.

The county and the Friends of Phelps Mill have been trying to preserve more than one structure at the site. Otter Tail County says it is also working on the dam, the general store and the miller’s house. The Otter Tail County Historical Society says Phelps Mill was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975, while some county materials place the listing in 1984. Friends of Phelps Mill, formed in 1993 and joined to the historical society in 1995, have long helped interpret the site through tours, displays, brochures and annual events. For residents, this bid notice shows the county is now asking the market to put a price on keeping that history standing.