Council agrees to auction town burn box on GovDeals, manager to handle listing and notify council on sale

The Signal Mountain Town Council discussed and gave staff direction to auction the town’s burn box on the GovDeals surplus-equipment site after staff reported limited usable service and regulatory obstacles to operating it locally.

Councilmember Justice announced an abstention from further decisionmaking on the item due to a potential conflict of interest. Staff said the burn box was used only briefly after purchase and had operational and permitting challenges: county open-burn rules and smoke concerns limited its use and the unit required a crane for removal. Town staff said they previously listed the unit on GovDeals and received a low bid; the unit was relisted and staff proposed a round-number minimum acceptance of $100,000 based on a simple heavy-equipment depreciation formula staff used. Several councilmembers said they doubted the burn box was worth $100,000; others said they preferred a low minimum and to let bidding determine the final price.

The council gave staff consensus to proceed with the auction process and to manage the listing on GovDeals, with the expectation that staff will notify council if a sale requires rapid action or if bids fall short and the council needs to decide next steps. Staff said standard practice will include issuing a bill of sale or similar paperwork before any purchaser takes possession and that the buyer will be responsible for transporting the unit and providing a crane for removal.

No final sale occurred at the April 14 meeting; council direction was to proceed with public auction and to return to council for any required sale approval if the high bid is below staff’s acceptance threshold.