County plans public bid for former Drew Plantation fire station; antique truck may go to auction

Facilities staff briefed the Penobscot County Commission on Jan. 7 about a small building and parcel in the former Drew Plantation that the county now owns after deorganization and recent eviction of squatters.

Facilities staff said the building has no plumbing, an inoperable overhead bay door and seven junk vehicles on site that need removal. Staff recommended offering the property for sale by public bid rather than paying for a formal appraisal that could cost more than the property is likely to fetch. Commissioners agreed that a public bid with a sign on the property and advertisements in local papers and the county website was a reasonable next step; staff said they would schedule a bid opening in the spring.

Staff also said the county had salvaged a 1980 Chevrolet fire truck from the site, had it running, and would likely consign it to Central Maine Auction. Facilities staff estimated its present auction value at roughly $4,000–$6,000 and said they would notify interested parties if the vehicle is listed.

Why it matters: The item clears a county property-management question from deorganization and allows the county to recover value while removing abandoned vehicles and addressing potential illegal storage. The commission gave staff direction to advertise the property and clean up the vehicles, but took no sale or transfer action on Jan. 7.

Ending: Staff will prepare a public-bid package and sign for the property, remove scrapped vehicles, and return to the commission with a schedule for the bid opening; no purchase or final sale decision was made at the meeting.