Commissioners discuss selling surplus metal covers and equipment on Purple Wave; skid steer sale deferred pending usage check

Crawford County commissioners on Sept. 9 discussed surplus equipment and whether to sell items on Purple Wave, an online auction platform, and agreed to move forward with posting most items while holding off on a skid steer until shop staff confirm utilization.

Commissioner Carl asked whether steel covers, listed in an inventory with varying sizes, could be sold on Purple Wave and suggested grouping identical sizes together rather than selling the entire inventory in a single lot. "If it's okay, I'll go ahead and have him; we'll put wheels in motion on this," Carl said about posting the covers.

The meeting record shows the county has assorted metal covers (examples cited included 15-inch and 30-foot pieces) and other surplus items staff suggested could be sold individually by category. Commissioners discussed trade-offs between clearing storage space and retaining equipment that sometimes fills operational gaps. One commissioner noted the skid steer had been used recently for loading culverts, snow removal at the courthouse and for building a pad for the extension office, and urged caution before selling it.

The commission decided to list most surplus items on Purple Wave now and to postpone the skid steer sale pending a usage check with shop foreman Josh. No formal vote or sale authorization for the skid steer was recorded at the meeting; commissioners asked county staff to consult with Josh about frequency of use and to bring the item back to a future meeting if it is not regularly used.