YORK – The last of the civil defense inventory that had been stored in the city auditorium has been sold.
Many different kinds of items, dating back to World War II, had been stored there, initially in preparation for any event of mass emergency. The property was determined to belong to the county.
The items included cots, wool blankets, specialized medical equipment, emergency medical and survival gear.
Since the property was discovered and the ownership was established, it has been a long process in finding new homes for the inventory.
At first, there was even the issue of determining what items were being stored – they had been packed so well, it was hard to tell exactly what they were dealing with.
Commissioner Bill Bamesberger, who has been overseeing the process of properly finding the property new homes, explained this week that the bulk of the survival inventory was given to the National Guard Museum in Seward.
“Now, I wanted to bring this before the full board so we can have formal action taken to sell the balance of what is left,” Commissioner Bamesberger explained. “A buyer, Mike Bockman of Kearney, has come forward and will be paying $2,000 for the remaining items.”
Bamesberger also pointed out that there will be a few large items left in storage because they are simply not able to be moved. They will remain in the storage area of the auditorium indefinitely.
“The buyer will be picking up the items on Thursday and we might need some help loading it,” Bamesberger said further.
“I want to thank you, Bill, for taking care of this,” said Commissioner Kurt Bulgrin. “It was a lot of work.”
“It was a long process to get it done, but we are there now,” Bamesberger responded.
