Cleveland County to auction stored items on Web site

BY JAMES S. TYREE Comments 0
Published: November 3, 2009

NORMAN — Cleveland County Sheriff Joe Lester uses one word to describe the amount of lost and abandoned items the county has in storage:

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List of items

Go to the police auction Web site at www.propertyroom.com.

"Indescribable.”

County commissioners tried to ease the load Monday when they voted to approve a one-year agreement with the police auction Web site propertyroom.com, effective last Thursday.

Found or seized weapons will not be put on the eBay-like site, Lester said, and the online auction will not replace the occasional live sheriff’s office sales. Lester told commissioners he’s received positive feedback on the site from other law enforcement agencies.

The sheriff said the county stores numerous unclaimed items from burglaries and thefts, from people turning in lost and abandoned items to county officials, and things left behind at bus stops and other public facilities.

"We get lots of clothes and if they’re in good shape we’ll give them to the Salvation Army,” Lester said. "But with a lot of items like TVs, computers, tools, we’ll put them on the site.”

In other business, commissioners postponed taking action on awarding the bid for repairing the roof at the Alan J. Couch juvenile center and on approving a resolution to become a 2010 Census partner until all commissioners see the resolution.

The board heard a presentation last week about the county and state’s financial and political importance for residents to participate next spring in the U.S. Census, which takes place every 10 years.