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Local surplus auction in Bay County draws hundreds of attendees

Local surplus auction in Bay County draws hundreds of attendees

Yahoo11-05-2025

BAY COUNTY, Fla. (WMBB) – Despite the weather, several local events went on as planned. The government surplus live auction is a community favorite.
Florida Auction network manager Jon Sewell said Saturday morning's event was a huge success, with several hundred community members in attendance.
Sewell said vehicles from Bay and Walton County Sheriff's offices, as well as Panama City, Callaway, and Panama City Beach Police departments, were auctioned off.
He adds that the money stays local, and the majority of proceeds go right back into government agencies' general funds to provide services to the community.
The next local government auction will be on June 21st.
There is an online auction that is open until 6 pm on May 13th. To learn more, click here, and to follow their social media page, click here
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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Newspaper seeks public release of Centennial Park feasibility study
Newspaper seeks public release of Centennial Park feasibility study

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time25 minutes ago

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Newspaper seeks public release of Centennial Park feasibility study

Niagara Falls City Council Chairman Jim Perry has talked with Mayor Robert Restaino about the unreleased feasibility study for the proposed Centennial Park arena and events campus and said he's encouraged by what he's been told about it so far. In response to questions from the Niagara Gazette on Thursday, Perry did not say whether he would support releasing the study to the public in response to a Freedom of Information Law request filed by the newspaper. Instead, Perry said he spoke to city attorney Tom DeBoy who acknowledged receipt of the newspaper's formal request for the document and was assured that the city's legal department is working on it. 'I'm not part of that process, but (DeBoy) assured me it's being done,' Perry said on Thursday. Restaino confirmed in an interview with the members of the local press on May 13 that he received what he described as an incomplete version of the study, which was prepared by the private Florida-based consulting firm Sports Facilities Advisory, LLC at a cost of $140,000, plus expenses. While he has since indicated that the study results support the city building Centennial Park, he has declined to release the contents publicly. In an interview with the Gazette earlier this week, Restaino said he intends to do so by the end of the month after the results are shared with 'stakeholders,' namely representatives from New York's lead economy development agency Empire State Development Corp. and National Grid, the two entities that covered the city's cost for the study. 'One of the things we will do is meet with the stakeholders who paid for the study and show it to them,' Restaino told the Gazette in an interview earlier this week. 'And then we'll release it to the public. This month everything is going to be out in the open.' During an appearance on Monday on 'Your Community Accountability with Sam and Jon,' a Falls-based social media program aired on Facebook and YouTube, Perry said he has had a 'lot of discussions about it' and that it 'looks positive.' On Thursday, Perry told the newspaper he hadn't seen the study but had talked to the mayor about it. 'I can't share everything because this will be up to the mayor to unveil, but this project should be one of the more positive advancements to our local economy I've seen in my 70-plus years here in the city if everything falls into place,' Perry said. On Thursday, the newspaper filed a formal Freedom of Information request with the city's legal department and clerk's office, requesting a copy of the study from Restaino's administration. The newspaper's request cited two opinions from the New York State Committee on Open Government that indicate state law allows public agencies to release documents in their possession even in instances where they are considered to be drafts or incomplete. 'Draft records are subject to FOIL,' said Paul Wolf, a Williamsville attorney and founder of the government transparency group, the New York Coalition for Open Government. The city clerk's office acknowledged the newspaper's request on Thursday afternoon. Under state law, public agencies are allowed up to 20 business days to either grant or deny requests for information. In its initial response, the city clerk's office indicated that should 'circumstances arise' that prevent the delivery of a response within 20 business, the newspaper would be contacted with a 'new response date.' 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British holidaymakers to miss out on compensation after EU rule change
British holidaymakers to miss out on compensation after EU rule change

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British holidaymakers to miss out on compensation after EU rule change

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4 Different Levels of FIRE Retirement and How To Pick the Right One for You
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4 Different Levels of FIRE Retirement and How To Pick the Right One for You

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