An auction for a two-story house and outbuildings in the City of Sequim’s Gerhardt Park at 1610 S. Third Ave. resulted in no bids, according to city staff.
Public Works Director Paul Bucich confirmed this via email, writing that city staff are considering next steps for the structures.
Sequim City Council voted in September to surplus the buildings rather than pay for demolition at staff’s recommendation.
Bucich said staff’s hope is to prevent the structures from going to the landfill.
City staff had budgeted $150,000 to remove the home and outbuildings but Bucich wanted an option for a house mover and/or builder to take the structures. Staff said those who had purchased the house and/or buildings would be required to remove the home/structures themselves and/or with a professional mover.
The deadline for bids was June 6 following four open houses in late May. More information on Sequim’s Surplus equipment and properties can be found at sequimwa.gov/661/Surplus-Program.
Any funds from the sales would go into the park’s master plan and construction, Bucich said. A master plan effort is still planned for later in the year, he said, with public outreach included.
Anton “Toni” and Rosa Gerhardt signed an agreement in 2006 to give their property to the city upon their deaths in exchange for a domestic water connection with the stipulation it remain a park.
The home being auctioned was built in the late 1930s or early 1940s to be 12 feet by 14 feet and later expanded to two stories. It was rented out by the Gerhardts after they built a second home on the property in the mid-1970s. That structure wasn’t part of the auction, according to city staff.
The two-story house is now about 834 square feet with an estimated value of $80,905 per the Clallam County Assessor’s Office. The other outbuildings in the auction have a combined value of about $500, Bucich previously said.
Gerhardt Park is one of two City of Sequim parks, including Joseph Keeler Memorial Park, on the south side of U.S. Highway 101. It’s open dawn to dusk daily, with open space, forested land and access to Bell Creek down a trail.
