Two important auctions soon

By now those of you reading this surely know that there are two high-profile and important auctions coming to the Custer County Courthouse in the near future, both of which are for high-dollar properties in Custer County.
The first, coming next Friday, is the auction of the former State Treatment and Rehabilitation Academy (STAR). It will be the fourth time the academy land and campus will have been put up for auction, except this time the price has been lowered and the land is missing a 40-acre parcel that sold the last time the property went up for sale.
The remaining 133 acres and the buildings on which they sit will have a reduced the price of $1 million, which is $680,000 less than the previous listed price after $320,00 was subtracted from the property value when 40 acres of the property was sold at the previous auction. At a meeting of the Custer County Commission last year, entrepreneurs presented a plan to possibly bring a shrimp farm, trade school and other entities onto the campus if a successful bid were placed. The people behind the proposal were at the September auction, but did not place a bid. It is unclear whether they intend to do so this time around.
If someone buys the facility they will receive a property that recently suffered vandalism to the tune of around $100,000, according to the Custer County Sheriff’s Department. While some are still clamoring for the facility to be returned to its former use as a juvenile detention facility, there is a movement within the state legislature to appropriate money to level the buildings on the property should it fail to sell next week. Presumably, the bare land would then be offered for sale, which likely would attract more buyers.
Whatever happens, we would like to see this be the last time the state tries to sell the campus as is. Clearly, if it doesn’t sell this time at a reduced rate, it’s likely going to never sell, and it’s time to either fix it up and make it into a state-run facility or raze the buildings, sell the land and get the property on the tax rolls.
As far as the FLDS compound, don’t rush to the auction thinking you’ll get it for $100. Although it’s unclear as of now, the amount owed on a judgement for plaintiffs that has forced the sale, $1.7 million, could be the starting bid for the 140-acre property. That, and the $122,000 in annual property taxes, should weed out less-than-serious bidders. Keep in mind this isn’t your run-of-the-mill foreclosure sheriff’s sale, either. There are still residents on the compound, so you can’t go out there and take tours of the property without their permission. That’s trespassing. Don’t call Sheriff Marty Mechaley trying to organize a tour, either. He’s not a real estate agent. His office is merely responsible for selling the property come Feb. 25, when the sale is scheduled.
The sale of the property has created quite a buzz in the county, and both Mechaley and we have been getting frequent calls with questions about the sale. There are a lot of unknowns that likely won’t be answered until the day of the sale. Whoever buys the property will get a huge chunk of land in a rural area that will require a lot of maintenance. Neighbors will likely rejoice over the sale. It’s safe to say the FLDS won’t be missed, 15 years after they first appeared in Custer County.