Council declares 215 N. Pearl surplus, authorizes three‑week market listing

The Centralia City Council on Tuesday declared the city‑owned property at 215 North Pearl Street to be surplus and authorized staff to market the property for three weeks, citing high repair and retrofit costs and competing budget priorities.

City staff told the council the building has suffered weather and deferred‑maintenance damage while unused and estimated significant repairs to make it functional and suitable for municipal court use: staff offered rough estimates of about $2.5 million to repair and convert the building for a court facility, compared with an estimated $1.5 million in upgrades to adapt existing space at city hall and $200,000–$250,000 for security improvements. Staff recommended surplusing the property and pursuing a sale rather than retaining and funding extensive renovations.

Council members debated the timing and marketing approach. Some members said they supported selling now to avoid additional deterioration and to free funds that could be used toward court improvements at city hall; others urged broad marketing and a reasonable open‑market window. The council settled on a motion to declare the property surplus and to list it on the open market for three weeks. Staff said they would advertise in the legal paper of record and through plan‑center distribution and could also use commercial listing services; staff also said they would permit potential buyers to tour the building during an advertised viewing window. Realtor Laura Lee spoke during the meeting and said she could list the property on commercial sites such as LoopNet and Crexi and recommended a short marketing window (one to three weeks) for offers.

The motion passed 7‑0. Staff said if no acceptable offers arrive staff would report back with next steps; the council also authorized the city manager to execute the disposition process in accordance with the adopted resolution.