Treasure County plans public auction for downtown building and reviews pump, substation repair needs

Treasure County commissioners discussed next steps for a county-owned downtown building and debated how best to market and sell the property to recoup delinquent taxes and county costs.

Staff reported three interested parties and said options include obtaining an appraisal before sale or setting a minimum at the amount owed and selling by public auction or online auction. Speaker 5 recommended calculating the county’s taxes and administrative costs to establish a minimum and bring a resolution to the next meeting to set the auction timetable. "We either have it appraised and then do a public auction or we do a tax-deed sale and set that as your minimum and then do a public auction," Speaker 5 said; the board asked staff to return with the figures and a proposed resolution.

In the same portion of the meeting, officials discussed infrastructure needs: routine culvert and bridge monitoring, ongoing rebuilds of irrigation pumps (multiple pumps with periodic rebuild costs), and a projected need to rebuild a county substation. One participant said rebuilding the substation could require ‘‘upwards towards half a million’’ dollars, and the board asked staff to pursue funding options.

Separately, staff confirmed a signed check and documentation for an airplane hangar payment would be filed with county records. The board agreed to move forward with preparatory work for the building sale and to investigate funding sources for longer-term infrastructure projects.

Next steps are for staff to total taxes and county costs for the downtown building, present a draft resolution setting auction parameters at the next meeting, and identify potential funding avenues for pump and substation repairs.