J

While 219 Coffee County Sheriff Department seized firearms have been declared in essence surplus, they will not be available to the public for purchase in the coming months due to a plan to trade them in for a cost savings.

The firearms range from handguns in calibers from .22 and a Colt .45 to some rifles and two shotguns and even an Airsoft airgun.

Coffee County Purchasing Agent Stephanie Bush said that while surplus government property is usually placed on the GovDeals website, she agreed after speaking with Sheriff Chad Parton that using the weapons as credit for with the county’s Glock dealers on future purchases of ammunition and firearms would be a good decision.

“I think that if we go through a reputable dealer, it would pay us in the long run to do a trade instead of trying to go and sell, plus paying the auction premium on top of that,” Bush said during the Purchasing Committee meeting May 16.

The committee unanimously approved the matter.

Additionally, a 4.34 tract of county land behind the Manchester City Shop on Oakdale Street will be offered to the city for purchase rather than being sold at auction. The land-locked acreage was recently rejected as a site for a new county animal control shelter after a feasibility study called the location problematic for that use.

Originally 12-acres, the property was purchased from the city in 1963 and then placed in the care of the Coffee County Industrial Board in 1994 to develop the property.

Marcole Enterprises purchased and built on the front of that property, leaving the acreage in the back and a small noncontiguous strip that divides the factory and the South Central Resources Agency Head Start campus.

Bush said that according to state statute, the county can legally transfer surplus property to other municipalities by sale, trade gift or barter.

The committee unanimously approved a motion to give the County Mayor the authority to negotiate a sale with any interested municipality. The committee declared the property surplus on May 16.

According to the Property Assessor Beverly Robertson the listed tax appraisal of $65,100 was updated in recent tax assessments at $15,000 per acre to include the extra sliver of land.

If the county can’t reach an agreement on a sale, the committee will then approve a request for proposal (RFP) and hold a public auction for the sale.

The mostly graveled property is used to store assorted government equipment. To the north of the property is Remington Place subdivision. It is zoned R-4 high density residential.