The former WAVE buildings on West 3rd Street are being offered for sale. County Commissioners Saturday voted to sell the 6 acres of land which had previously been leased to the 377 Board and used as a sheltered workshop. But the three buildings are now only used for storage and the property is a strain on the 377 Board’s budget.

The property includes three acres on which the three buildings sit and three acres of woods behind the buildings. Commissioners declared the 6 acres as surplus property and will be accepting sealed bids, which county board chairman Tim Hocking said he hoped would be opened by the next county board meeting in two weeks. He said the property has already generated some interest from potential buyers.

It’s no secret the county’s courthouse has been bursting at the seams for years, but Hocking dismissed the idea of the county using the WAVE property to expand or possibly build a new jail.

Last year, commissioners shot down an attempt by the health board to buy the property and move the health department operations there and instead chose to remodel the existing facility at 7th and Chestnut Streets.

The rare Saturday afternoon county board meeting was held because a quorum would not have been available if the meeting had been held on its’ regularly scheduled day, which was today.