Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

County's Surplus rakes In $131,000

Nevada County made $131,541.60 in a public auction selling surplus equipment.

Nevada County Judge James Roy Brown said the county did well with the auction, selling four motor graders, two worked and two didn't, a track hoe and track loader, along with two cars confiscated by the Nevada County Sheriff's Office on drug arrests.

He said the money made on the auction, done by Tom Blackmon Auctions, will go back into the county's coffers. Part of the funds will be placed in county general, with some money going into the hospital account. This is because two vehicles owned by the defunct Nevada County Hospital were sold during the auction. The remainder of the money will go to the road and bridge budget.

Brown said Blackmon was used because he has a mailing list of people dealing with this kind of equipment, instead of local auctioneers who don't have this sort of list. In addition, a number of scrap metal dealers showed up at the county shop, where the auction was held.

Two of the graders sold for $12,600 each, which surprised Brown, who said he expected them to go for maybe $7,500 each. The track hoe went for $4,950, while the excavator for the track hoe was sold for $3,800. A low boy brought a bid of $4,350.

The two cars from the NCSO brought $500 and $210.

Brown said an auction will have to be held on the equipment and fixtures left in the old NCH eventually.

The county judge plans to buy another motor grader and retire the worst one, using it as a spare when needed. A new grader, Brown said, costs about $150,000. His intentions are to try and find a good used grader.