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With the final bids due to be opened at 1 p.m. Thursday, the Mentone Chamber of Commerce is optimistic about the big egg.
"We are doing fabulously," said Rita Price, president of the Mentone chamber. The chamber is leading the fund drive in support of a proposed egg-shaped water tower.
"To the best of our knowledge we are right on target, but we will not know that until Thursday," said Price.
"As far as the funding and the background we are getting some tremendous donations," said Price in a telephone interview Friday. She said she had just taken a $5,000 pledge prior to the interview.
But one group of supporters surprised Price.
"We had one couple, especially, come in and say that 'our family is no longer part of the poultry business but for years it was a big part of our family and our family life,' " Price said.
She said the chamber normally would approach corporations when looking for donations and hadn't realized the number of families that would be interested in the egg.
The agricultural community of Mentone has come forth to pledge money toward the egg. To Price's surprise, many of those contributors are no longer involved in egg production but are making donations based on their family's involvement in the poultry industry.
Price said the chamber is considering placing plaques listing the family farm memorials given near the egg tower and in the Bell Memorial Public Library.
"We'd like to encourage those people to contact us at any amount," said Price. "We don't care whether they give $5 or $5,000."
The chamber has received many contributions toward its goal, but Price refused to share the amount of money that has been pledged.
Part of Price's optimism toward the success of the project comes from conversations she's had with representatives of Commonwealth Engineering, Indianapolis. The firm, which is engineering the town's $1.4 million water project, believes the bids for the egg-shaped tower (which is only part of the project) will be competitive.
That competitiveness owes itself, in part, to a national competition for novelty shaped water tanks. Price said the tank could benefit the companies through the publicity the town has sparked with the odd tank.
Three companies are vying for the bid to be awarded this Thursday.
"We're in a position to know that they want to sharpen their pencils because they want get this bid," said Price.
If the pencils are sharp enough Mentone will have a second egg and, some supporters hope, attention for their efforts.
The bids will be opened in the town hall.
