County gains from spirited bidding for surplus land

If ever the County Commission proved an expression to be true, it was during an entertaining auction of surplus land Tuesday morning.

Good things indeed come to those who wait.

Before the seven members of the board could rock back in their comfy chairs, they had wracked up a quick $190,000, the assessed value of a small parcel off the Desert Inn Super Arterial, between Polaris and Aldebaran avenues. The county bought the land about five years ago, thinking that it might be needed for the arterial construction.

In a few moments, commissioners were looking at a quarter of a million dollars. Moments later, they had $340,000. Sold.

Perhaps not enjoying the scene as much as board members and the two high school classes that attended Tuesday's commission meeting were Neil Ohriner and Gary Zimmerman, the two bidders battling hardest for that half-acre.

After written bids were unsealed by commission chair Yvonne Atkinson Gates, the verbal bidding war began. Once the offers climbed to $250,000, Zimmerman and Ohriner were the only two left bidding.

Ohriner finally took ownership of the land after agreeing to pay the county $340,000 cash. The retired nightclub owner and screen printer said after the meeting that he may hand the property over to his son, who is an optometrist, to build an office.

"I just found out about this property yesterday," Ohriner said. "It's just an empty piece of land, but I wanted it."

Zimmerman owns an auto repair shop on an adjacent lot and had hoped to use the parcel to expand his business.

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