Overton Annex Building Step Closer To Auction

The Overton County Highway and Property Committee voted Thursday to auction the County Annex Building and land.

County Executive Ben Danner said the building’s utility costs make it difficult to consider keeping it for storage. He said those costs stand at some $2,500 per month.

“Even with everything cut down, it’s more than double what this new building is,” Danner said.

Danner said he had an offer to purchase the building but state law requires it be sold at auction. He said the building and the land at 317 East University Street might sell for “close to $100,000.” Danner received an offer of $42,000.

The first priority: getting the building cleaned out.

“We’ve got it, which is probably, you know, two or three months before we had the sale, because we’re in the process of trying to get everything moved out and, you know, shredding documents that we don’t have to keep,” Danner said. “But, you know, there’s a whole lot of stuff still left in it.”

Danner said at least two loads of archives material needs to be moved out of the building.

The auction would likely be an online auction, Danner said, because of COVID. He said an auctioneer told him the bidding seems to go higher online as well. It will be likely two to three months before the auction can be held.

Danner said local fire departments and community centers might be interested in some of the file cabinets and other furniture in the building.

In his comments prior to the vote, Danner said he did not want to see the building get rundown.