Despite roughly 30 inquiries into the Sappington Barn Center, Crestwood received no responses to its request for proposals, prompting the Board of Aldermen to re-issue the request.

The Board of Aldermen voted unanimously last week to re-issue the request for proposals, or RFP, for the site with an Aug. 1 deadline. The original request was issued in early March with an April 3 deadline.

The Sappington Barn Center has operated as a restaurant, according to the original RFP.

“However, at this time the city of Crestwood is soliciting proposals for any type of operation of the facility, which may or may not contain a restaurant component,” the original RFP stated.

Among potential uses for the site are a winery, a bicycle or repair shop, a specialty store or a rental/catering facility, according to the original RFP.

Director of Public Works Jim Eckrich said when the RFP initially went out, he showed the site to roughly seven people.

Establishments that showed interest in the facility were “established banquet-type facilities” and “mom-and-pop startups,” according to Eckrich.

“There was a lot of interest initially, then the calls stopped. The site visits stopped and we didn’t get anything in …,” he told the board at its May 8 meeting.

Ward 2 Alderman Tim Trueblood asked, because the facility has been sitting vacant, if the RFP is “worded in a manner that’s making it difficult for people to see how to make a profit in the economic times we’re in.”

Eckrich the RFP is “very open-ended.”

“There is no requirement to provide gross sales. There’s actually no requirement to provide rent other than covering the utility costs,” he said. “… It’s really open-ended and we still didn’t get any proposals. That’s why I’m kind of at a loss as to how to proceed.”

Mayor Jeff Schlink said the goal of including an expiration date on a new RFP is to help motivate prospective tenants to make a decision.

“If (the RFP) is re-issued with no expiration date, there is language in the RFP that allows the city to pull back the RFP at any time,” Schlink said.

Trueblood said if the city receives no response by the Aug. 1 deadline, and due to the number of people who utilize Grant’s Trail, which is near the facility, the city could consider renting parking spaces for a Friday-through-Sunday farmers’ market.

“I know the (farmers’ market) in Kirkwood is booming. It’s on a trail,” Trueblood said. “If we can’t get the building occupied for whatever reasons … would it be possible that people would want to come here and sell their produce at a farmer’s market? It ties very nicely into the concept of the Sappington House.”

Ward 3 Alderman Paul Duchild said he loved the idea of a farmer’s market.

“(Farmers’ markets) seem to bring people in, especially if you have it on a weekend,” he said.

The Ward 3 alderman also suggested performing a cost-analysis to determine what it costs to run the Sappington Barn Center versus demolishing it.

“I’m not proposing that, but just for the sake of the city, if we’re not going to ever get anybody in that building, why have it sit there?” Duchild said. “Either utilize it somehow or if it’s costing more to keep it standing there than it would to just tear it down, I think we should legitimately consider that option too.”

Ward 3 Alderman Jerry Miguel said the Sappington Barn Center also could be used to support the arts in Crestwood, referencing the city recently establishing an arts committee.

“If the city is going to do something actively by way of promoting arts, it seems to me that would be a perfect place from which to operate,” he said.

Duchild, who was in favor of re-issuing the RFP, said the topic would be a “great thing” for the parks board to talk about.

Schlink will request that the parks board discuss the Sappington Barn Center and bring suggestions back to the board.

In other business, the board voted to name Duchild board president. Five aldermen voted for Duchild. Ward 4 Alderman John Foote nominated and voted for Ward 2 Alderman Bob Deutschmann as president. Duchild and Deutschmann abstained.