Trent to auction old city hall; build office in gym

Trent’s city hall will go to the highest bidder.
The town board voted last week to sell the condemned building, which includes an office and a garage area, through Chuck Sutton Auctioneer and Land Broker. The auction is being planned for mid-March.
The building, believed to have been built in 1912, was compromised more than a year ago and condemned after that because the roof started to cave in. Two contractors told the town board that the building was not worth saving because in addition to the roof, the walls are compromised and starting to lean.
Town board members said at the Feb. 9 meeting that they would not want to future owner of the building to just buy it and let it sit without either fixing it or taking the building down.

The building will be sold as is. “The buyer can determine whether they want to fix it up or tear it down, said Jonathan Damm, board president.
The board will look at including a deadline for that.
After the initial condemnation, the board considered building a new shop and office space, but with a hefty price tag, instead purchased an existing building for its equipment and will build an office inside the Trent Gym.
The office is planned for the southwest corner of the gym, where bleachers will be removed and walls constructed. City finance manager Kim Nelson will have an office inside, and there will be a table for board meetings. A storage space will be built above the office, said Terry Javers, who is the contractor that will do the work. He is a businessman in town, too, as co-owner of Steve’s Bar.
“I think it will blend right in,” he said of the area.
The area is expected to cost $18,000, with construction starting the first week of March. The project could take up to a month, Javers said. There are no events scheduled at the gym during that month.