City Hall auction fetches $30,000

The city cleared out some unwanted items and pocketed cash at its surplus auction on Sept. 5.

“City Hall is pretty well stripped down,” City Manager Chuck Stearns said. “It’s already a shell of what it was and soon it will be even emptier.”

The gross proceeds of the auction were about $30,000, but after expenses the city expects to net about $25,000 from the sale.

Stearns said most of the money will go into the City Hall and parking structure construction fund. Items that were sold from the fire, police and street departments will go into those individual funds.

The city held the auction as it prepares for the demolition of the City Hall building set for this fall. A new City Hall and parking structure will be constructed on the same site.

There were a few notable items on the auction.

The seven sets of jail cell bars from the 1918 jail sold for a total of $1,750.

The basement vault door and frame sold for $900. While the vault door and frame located upstairs sold for $1,900.

The bullet-proof glass in the old police department went for $25. The city attorney door sold for $20.

The elevator sold for $400. The flag pole went for $250.

The city council dais and staff counter sold for $10. The rumor is that the dais may be for a bar near Coram, according to Stearns.

The fire suppression system for City Hall sold for $75. The Lennox furnace went for $275.

Three vehicles on the auction sold. The 1979 Dodge fire brush truck sold for $7,400, the 1977 Ford dump truck sold for $4,900 and the 1993 Ford ambulance went for $4,600.

The patterned tin siding panels from the side of the building sold for $25.

“Most of the buyers have removed their items, but some of the items need to be removed as we get closer to demolition,” Stearns said.

The city expects to have another auction closer to when it moves into the new City Hall as it will have most of its existing furniture to sell. The construction project is expected to take up to two years to complete.