Mammoth Blog

The city of Fernandina Beach has withdrawn an eBay auction selling historic clay bricks at a starting bid of 99 cents per lot of 100, or about a penny per brick.

Fleet maintenance supervisor Jeremiah Glisson, who also handles the city's online auctions, canceled the historic brick listing because the city could not put restrictions on who bought the bricks.

When a buyer from out of town wanted to purchase the whole lot, Glisson said, staff decided it was a better idea to keep the bricks local and canceled the auction. Now, he says, the bricks will be used in the city's pocket parks and other projects.

According to an e-mail from City Manager Michael Czymbor, the bricks came from the Centre Street rehabilitation in the late 1970s and were later used to construct the parking lot at the Beech Street Grill. Those bricks were recently removed, according to Glisson, because they were being improperly maintained and presented a hazard to pedestrians.

They were listed on eBay, Glisson said, because city policy says surplus items must go up for competitive bid with the public determining the final value.

"The city of Fernandina Beach is selling historic clay bricks in lots of 100 by means of a NO RESERVE auction," the eBay listing read. "Approximately 4,000 clay bricks are available. ... The bricks were manufactured by Southern Clay Company, which is now located in Tennessee. These bricks are about 60-80 years old. These bricks were removed from historic downtown Fernandina Beach on various projects."

Ryan Burkhalter, a salesman for Burkhalter Wrecking, a demolition and salvage company in Jacksonville, says his company sells solid bricks from demolition sites for about 60 cents apiece. He said he did not know of any other companies selling used bricks for one cent apiece. The price his company has set, he says, is to cover transportation and cleaning costs.

Mayor Bruce Malcolm, a longtime supporter of preserving local history, said the bricks "probably should not have been put on eBay," but added that it was most likely a "natural mistake by someone in public works."

Suanne Thamm, chair of the Historic District Council, said she was not aware of the historic bricks listed on eBay.

When asked if the HDC had any way of addressing issues such as historic surplus, she said the city should already be "aware enough" that such items would be of interest to residents.

Glisson said the city has been placing surplus items on eBay for about a year and a half as a way to get a higher value for items it no longer wants or needs.

The city's eBay income, said Glisson, "has been going up exponentially" and recently passed the $100,000 mark. Glisson said he also has used www.publicsurplus.com to sell surplus items and is working on an agreement with www.gov deals.com. The city, he said, has also used sealed bids.

A resolution was adopted by city commissioners in 2007 that authorizes the city manager to use sealed bids and auctions to dispose of surplus items.

The city's purchasing policy, said Glisson, states that all surplus items must be approved by the city commission before being sold. But items such as "junk, scrap, by-products, debris, etc. is junked or recycled in accordance with Article VII Finance" of the city's code of ordinances.

Proceeds from eBay auctions, said Glisson, go to those city departments that are set up with revenue accounts, such as enterprise funds.

A revenue account has also been established for the general fund for the 2008-9 budget. source>>>