MARCH 12, 2025|
Photo – Medicine Bow’s property – Bigfoot99 file photo
The governing body of Medicine Bow has voted to sell the former marshal’s house for a lower price instead of paying for repairs.
When the town of Medicine Bow formed its marshal’s department in 2019, the town council purchased a trailer home at 724 Maple Street, on the north side of town. The house was offered for rent to marshal’s deputies while the department was in operation. According to Medicine Bow town hall staff, Deputy Chris Tirpak was the last officer to occupy the house.
Medicine Bow officials blamed the previous tenant for failing to transfer utility services back into the town’s name after moving out of the house.
However, Medicine Bow Councilwoman Kristi Wickizer wrote in a social media post that this information isn’t entirely accurate. Councilwoman Wickizer wrote that the utility bills were paid. Instead, the previous tenant turned off all services except the water and did not inform anyone of that fact.
Without heat to the property, the water pipes froze and burst, severely damaging the floor of the trailer home.
During Monday night’s Medicine Bow town council meeting, Mayor Justin George said repairs to the house are estimated to cost between $27,000 and $30,000. Mayor George said the estimates include the cost of mobilization.
Mayor George said Medicine Bow Fire Chief Ed Standish, who is also an experienced contractor, expects the repair costs to be closer to $15,000 if the town uses a local company. The mayor said Chief Standish’s estimate is in line with figures provided by Councilman Trevor Strauch.
Mayor George said the council must choose whether the town will fix the house or sell it as-is.
Last August, the town council placed the former marshal’s house up for auction with a minimum bid of $63,000, which is what the town originally paid for the property. At the time, the governing body was unaware of the damage to the property.
At Monday’s Medicine Bow town council meeting, Mayor George suggested reducing the minimum bid instead of paying to fix the water damage.
Councilman Trevor Strauch said the town is set to lose the same amount of money on the property whether they choose to hire a local contractor to fix the damage or simply reduce the asking price.
The other Medicine Bow town council members agreed that lowering the minimum bid would be more beneficial than paying for repairs. The council unanimously voted to reduce the asking price from $63,000 to $48,000 and put the property back up for auction.
