State's surplus center in Salem is bringing in millions
SALEM, Ore. (AP) — Stacked on the top tier of a warehouse rack is a grayish lavender sofa with peach piping that once graced the governor's mansion. A vintage desk from the mansion is nearby, wrapped in plastic.
A dozen pieces of furniture from Mahonia Hall are among a multitude of items stored at a 72,000-square-foot building in Salem and at an outdoor lot that's nearly as large.
This is the Property Distribution Center, headquarters of Oregon's surplus property program. Its mission: extract value from government cast-offs, predominantly by selling them to the public or other government agencies.
"Just like a consignment shop, we take a little percentage and that's what keeps the lights on," said Darren Kennedy, an analyst with the surplus property program. "We don't take any general fund money."
When a state or federal agency, local jurisdiction, or school district has property it no longer needs it ends up at 1655 Salem Industrial Drive NE.
The Mahonia Hall furniture, for example, had been sitting in a storage area at the mansion before arriving here. The hodgepodge at the warehouse includes diesel engines, pumps, snow tires, first-aid kits, fire extinguishers, carpet tiles, official U.S. Coast Guard running shorts, a set of timpani drums, and more.
In the outdoor lot, an orange 1977 Tucker Sno Cat, once used by the Bonneville Power Administration, is looking for a buyer.
Commonplace items are sold to the public at a "general store" on site. The selection typically includes office furniture. Low cost bicycles, many of which have been recovered by Portland-area police but whose owners were never located, are another staple.
Unique or more valuable items, such as the Mahonia Hall furniture, are sold on eBay. The Mahonia Hall furniture will be put on eBay gradually; only a few pieces at a time will be released for sale.
Federal property is donated to public agencies with a number of conditions, including a service charge.
Oregon's surplus property program sells $10 million to $12 million of property per biennium, Kennedy said. Of that amount, $7 million to $9 million is returned to government agencies. About $3 million is retained to cover the program's cost, including paying 17 state workers.
The self-supporting program is operated by the Oregon Department of Administrative Services.
Of all the goods handled by the surplus property managers over the years, one case stands out. In 2003, Oregon's selling expertise was called on to unload objects from the former Mustang Ranch, a Nevada brothel.
The IRS seized the bordello after its parent company got into legal trouble. At auction, the IRS sold the best of the Mustang Ranch collectibles. Oregon's surplus agency was tasked with selling the leftovers on eBay, including a kitchen sink.
"We even sold empty wine bottles," Kennedy said. "People just bought it up like crazy."
Rarely does something arrive at the warehouse that won't eventually sell. Wrecked patrol cars are purchased for parts. Parking meters have become a hot item for hobbyists, who turn them into banks. Old voting machines appeal to political junkies.
In the midst of the vast array of things, Kennedy can't even think about grabbing some bargains for himself. Employees of the Property Distribution Center are prohibited from making purchases.
Information from: Statesman Journal
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.
Man, that is one butt-ugly couch.
How about the state start a spending freeze until all the items have found other uses? Oh that's right it's not like it's their hard earned money. They will just pluck more from the trees
As mentioned elsewhere, some of the items could still be used at other facilities. Some of the items such as studded tires on rims see one season, then are cast off to surplus. Then purchased new the following year. Computers that are still viable in other areas are sent to the auctioneer. A lot of times, they still had data on them, and software. They do sell a lot on Ebay also. Some items are worth looking at. Donating items between government facilities might work.
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 @Just Lookin Problem with items like computer is that agencies and such prefer to have machines that are all either the same or very similar to make maintenance of them easier. If they picked up machines here and there, they'd end up with such a variety that the savings from the computers would be eaten up in salary for techs.
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However, a good number of the items do end up at other agencies and governmental entities. Much of what gets sold to the public are either those that won't be used anymore or are like the items from the governors mansion that could bring in a considerable amount of money.
The problem with this is that a lot of it is reusable and perfectly serviceable - and should be reused by another agency or office. The intergovernmental reuse value far exceeds the resale or surplus value.
So the surplus center is bringing in a surplus...
@randola Well, at least I found the humor (and irony) in that!
This place sounds really cool; I am just worried now that the secret may have been unveiled. I would like to get some old school furniture, first aid kits, and any kind of survival gear. I've been interested in the army surplus store as well, but I heard it closed down (the one in damascus).
@portlandborn83 So did the one in salem. I went there to try to get a new jungle hammock and they were gone! Big disapointment.