The City of Bismarck will conduct its annual Spring Auction on Saturday, May 18.
Available items from this year’s auction include a variety of impounded vehicles, firearms, evidence property, bicycles and other City-owned property. A sale bill is available online or by clicking on the graphic included with this news release.
“Each year our annual City auctions allow the City of Bismarck’s departments to dispose of items per City policy,” said Bismarck Police Department’s Jeremy Kjos. “Items must be sold at public auction or disposed of by means of landfill or destroyed. There are hundreds of items in our auction each year. The cost alone of putting these items into the landfill or destroying them would be significant. Instead, we choose to free up space and create an opportunity for the public to purchase these items, oftentimes at a reduced cost.”
Public viewing of items will begin at 11:45 AM and conclude at 3:45 PM on Friday, May 17, in the City of Bismarck Impound Lot at 2011 North 52nd Street. Gates open for the auction at 8 AM on May 18, and bidding on items commences at 9 AM. Ken and Heather Thomsen of Thomsen’s 4 Winds Auction will serve as auctioneers for the event.
The bulk of the money from the auctioned items is allocated back into the City’s general fund. The exception is auctioned items purchased by enterprise fund departments such as the Airport and Event Center. Money from these items' sale is subsequently returned to that specific department.
There are two City auctions conducted each year: one in the spring and one in the fall. The spring sale is an in-person auction held on the third week in May. Due to the increasing quantity of impounded vehicles, a fall online auction was created to occur on the third Saturday in October. This fall will be the fifth fall auction.
To view color photos of auction items, please visit Thomsen's Four Winds Auction website.