The Washington County Supervisors discussed the next step with the county-owned lot at 302 West Main Street at their regular meeting Tuesday. 

County Auditor Tammy Stewart brought it to the Supervisors attention that in January of 2023 the Supervisors had stated that they would be reaching out to a realtor to try to sell the lot. No further action was taken at that time. The lot is zoned commercial.

Supervisor Marcus Fedler shared his thoughts on the matter after some discussion on potentially keeping the lot and trying to recoup money on the purchase, “It’s been two years we’ve been thinking about it, and I honestly think the idea behind the board buying that property in the first place, no matter what it cost was to provide parking for the courthouse, which is something that this board and this county has struggled with for years. And I think we are addressing that problem, and have addressed that problem already by getting rid of the old jail and moving the engineer from downtown. I don’t think it makes sense for the county to own that property long term and continue to maintain it. Maybe we put it on the market with a realtor and we get an offer for $25,000 or $30,000, whatever, it’s a lot, and it’s across from the courthouse which would be a good spot for some commercial space I would think, and it would benefit the community.”   

In a four to one vote, with Supervisor Richard Young voting no, the county will be seeking a realtor to list the lot. 

The county purchased the lot in 2017 for $50,000 and demolished a house that had been on the property. Also of note, the board solicited bids for the lot in 2023 and received one bid at $8,000. At that time, the board rejected the bids and took no further action.