HERMANN — Just how big the number might be on the price tag attached to the elevator planned for the Gasconade County Courthouse could be learned tomorrow morning. Contractors interested in building the lift are scheduled to have their bids opened during this week’s County Commission session.

County administrators plan to use most of the remaining $2.4-million American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) money to finance the elevator project, as well as pay for the exterior renovation work being done to the courthouse. To this point, county officials do not have a firm estimate of what the elevator installation might cost — partly because of several unknowns about putting the lift in the historic structure.

Engineers aren’t certain of what to expect when workers begin chiseling out an area of the basement for the elevator’s pit, not knowing how much rock will have to be removed.

If the final cost of the elevator and exterior work requires all or more than the $2.4 million, that means there would be none of the ARPA money left to distribute to the about 16 applicants seeking a share of the county’s second-round allocation of $1.4 million. About $600,000 was distributed to local government agencies, non-profit organizations and businesses out of the initial $1.4-million allocation. The first-round distribution had a $50,000 cap on the amount that could be applied for, but the Commission agreed to lift that cap for second-round applications, in order to accommodate larger infrastructure projects.

But those applications have been sitting idle for more than a year after being processed by Meramec Regional Planning Commission staff. That agency has been acting as the administrator of ARPA funds for Gasconade County and the other seven counties in the Meramec Region. Commissioners meet at 8:30 Thursday morning in Hermann.