City Auctions Aren't What They Used to Be

Psst -- wanna buy a salt spreader?

Check eBay. That's where Strongsville is listing its old one. 

The city will auction off some old equipment, including a couple of spreaders and 14 vehicles, to clear out unneeded inventory and make some cash.

But it't not like the old days, when residents were invited to the service garage on a Saturday morning to browse at the items, which often included office furniture and bicycles.

Now, all the auctioning is done off-site, either on eBay or by a third party, Service Director Joe Walker said.

City Council this week approved the sale of the equipment. Councilman at large Joe DeMio recalled visiting an auction in Strongsville shortly after he took office and seeing some very rundown vehicles on the block.

The vehicles this year mostly range in age from 1996 to 2007, most of them Ford Crown Victorias with a Chevy Impala, Ford Expedition and Dodge Caravan thrown in -- with one exception: a 1977 Ford F250 Custom pickup truck.

The city is contracting with the Greater Cleveland Auto Auction to sell the vehicles.