SEQUIM — An auction for a two-story house and outbuildings in Sequim’s Gerhardt Park resulted in no bids, city staff said.
Public Works Director Paul Bucich confirmed via email, writing that city staff are considering next steps for the structures at 1610 S. Third Ave.
The Sequim City Council voted in September to surplus the buildings rather than pay for demolition at staff’s recommendation. Bucich said staff hope 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 or builder to take the structures.
Staff said those who had purchased the house and buildings would be required to remove the structures themselves 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, city staff said.
The two-story house is now about 834 square feet with an estimated value of $80,905, according to 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 Sequim parks, including Joseph Keeler Memorial Park, on the south side of U.S. Highway 101. It’s open from dawn to dusk daily, with open space, forested land and access to Bell Creek down a trail.
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Matthew Nash is a reporter with the Olympic Peninsula News Group, which is composed of Sound Publishing newspapers Peninsula Daily News, Sequim Gazette and Forks Forum. He can be reached by email at matthew.nash@sequimgazette.com.
