UTICA-ROME -- To quote Ron Burgundy in Anchorman, "well, that escalated quickly!" The tax foreclosure auction of the former WRUN studios in Oriskany ended with a winning bid of $30,100, after a flurry of bids increased the price by $10,000 in the auction's final minutes. Who won the auction and what will they do with the property?
When we first reported on the auction earlier this week, the high bid was $9,100, a bid that stood for nearly two days. But as with many online auctions, the bids started coming in fast and furious as the auction's closing time approached.
In fact, there were so many bids in the final minutes, the auction's scheduled ending time of 11:14am was pushed back by an additional five minutes. Auctions International, the chosen platform for Oneida County's tax foreclosure auctions, says auctions will be extended if any new bids arrive within 60 seconds of the scheduled ending time. The 60-second window is reset every time a new bid comes in.
The policy mimics how a live auction would not close until all bidders have had a chance to submit their final bids. In this case, the extensions netted Oneida County nearly an extra ten grand, as the bids around the original closing time were closer to $20,000.
The final bid for $30,100 arrived at 11:18:05am, and since no other bids came in by 11:19:05, the auction closed. The winner's username is "ryan@villagemotors."
The user with the highest bid when we first reported on the auction earlier in the week, "mamjah2020," was the second-highest bidder, at $30,000. Per Oneida County's policies, if "ryan@villagemotors" doesn't submit a 30% deposit and various other fees by close of business Tuesday, September 19, the bid will be rejected and the County will offer the property to "mamjah2020" as the second-highest bidder.
A quick Google search finds that there is a business called Village Motors in the nearby Village of Oriskany, and the website does list a "Ryan" as one of the contacts. CNYRadio.com has reached out to confirm if this is indeed the same person, and if so, their plans for the site. We imagine it won't be anything radio-related, as the broadcast license for WUTI (which was the latest set of call letters assigned to the former 1150 AM) was deleted from the FCC database several years ago.
You may recall copper thieves stole the transmission lines connecting the studio building to the towers across the railroad tracks. Plans to get the station back on the air never materialized, so the station eventually lost its license.
The Oneida County tax foreclosure auction only included the parcel of property on which the old WRUN building is located; it doesn't include the land across the tracks where the towers are located.