LEWISTON — The city netted $83,102 selling old equipment, three piles of asphalt and unclaimed bicycles at a Sept. 11 Public Works auction.
“We had 300-plus registered bidders, and some of them really came with a mission,” said Norm Beauparlant, Lewiston’s budget and purchasing director. “They knew just what they wanted and they went right for it.”
Beauparlant said the first Public Works auction was a big success, clearing out some old pieces, giving the city some needed space and bringing in a little additional revenue.
“At one point, we had 500 people milling around the operation, looking at things,” Beauparlant said. “The weather really cooperated. We had a beautiful day and it really worked out.”
The city hired D.A. Folsom Auction Services of Gardiner to manage the auction. In all, the city sold 239 lots, ranging from single pieces of equipment to multiple pieces. One lot consisted of 100 unclaimed bicycles that had been impounded or recovered by Lewiston police.
Other items included 1996 Chevrolet pickups, 1987 excavators and a vintage lathe.
“Out of all of that, only seven items went without bids,” he said. They included a broken check-signing machine from the 1980s.
Beauparlant said the city also sold 18,000 yards of reclaimed asphalt in three piles.
“We had that listed to go for $1.05 per square yard, and there was some question that it was too much,” he said. “But we had between a half-dozen and 10 guys out looking at it.”
It’s the first time the city has held an auction. In the past, the city hosted garage-sale like events or hosted bicycle auctions with other towns.
“But we haven’t had anything of this magnitude in 30 years,” he said. The city is considering making the auction a regular event — possibly hosting an auction every other year or working with neighboring towns and cities to do a regular sale.
“Somebody said we should do this every year, but we really can’t,” Beauplarlant said. “It took us 20 years to put together this pile of stuff.”
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