Auction of Newcomerstown Emergency Rescue Squad equipment, vehicles raises $127,000

Jon Baker, The Times-Reporter
·3 min read
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NEWCOMERSTOWN ‒ An online auction of vehicles and equipment owned by the former Newcomerstown Emergency Rescue Squad, Inc., (NERS) netted around $127,000.

The auction ended on March 17.

"I think that's more than we expected, based on what we were selling. The estimate was somewhere between $75,000 and $100,000," said Ken Goldberg, the court-appointed receiver for the organization.

The $127,000 is before the auctioneer's commission, which was 20% for some items and 25% for others.

Lawsuit filed by the state

NERS has been out of business since June 2023. Tuscarawas County Common Pleas Court Judge Elizabeth Lehigh Thomakos ordered the organization to stop providing services in response to a lawsuit filed in April 2023 by Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost, that alleged that NERS failed to follow state laws regarding nonprofits.

More on auction: Online auction selling property of defunct Newcomerstown Emergency Rescue Squad

NERS provided fire and emergency medical response in Newcomerstown and nearby townships. The village started its own fire department in May 2023 in response to concerns about NERS staffing and governance.

NERS owned the David Barber Civic Center at 1066 E. State St., Newcomerstown, where it ran bingo operations, as well as several nearly vacant parcels of land. It operated out of a fire station at 200 S. College St., owned by the village of Newcomerstown, and owned numerous vehicles and equipment stored there.

Fire apparatus formerly owned by the now defunct Newcomerstown Emergency Rescue Squad was part of a recent auction.
Fire apparatus formerly owned by the now defunct Newcomerstown Emergency Rescue Squad was part of a recent auction.

Thomakos granted Goldberg authority to conduct the auction on Feb. 6.

An inventory of NERS vehicles and equipment valued it at $299,700.

Some equipment leased

Goldberg noted that not all of those items were sold at the auction. A significant portion was held back and is currently being leased to the village of Newcomerstown to use for fire protection services. Those vehicles and equipment were valued at around $200,000.

He said one of his goals is to have the court permit those assets to go to the fire department permanently.

The best-selling item in the online auction was a 2015 16-foot rescue boat with two boat trailers and a 40 hp jet motor. It received 76 bids and sold for $30,303.

A ladder truck sold for $11,250 and a fire truck with a 2003 Spartan chassis sold for $8,375.

Civic center sale

The civic center building was not sold at auction. It is being marketed by a realty company and will be sold to the highest offer, Goldberg said. The sale will be subject to court approval.

The entire process of liquidating NERS assets is expected to take another 60 to 90 days, he said. Once the process is over, Goldberg will ask the court for authority to distribute funds to the organization's creditors.

"Our goal is to try and benefit some of the charitable organizations in Newcomerstown with some of these assets," he said. "We've already started to do that by leasing and planning to eventually donate a large number of the vehicles and equipment to the Newcomerstown Fire Department. There may be more that gets donated to charitable organizations in Newcomerstown, but that's all going to be up to the court to approve."

Reach Jon at 330-364-8415 or at jon.baker@timesreporter.com.

This article originally appeared on The Times-Reporter: Online auction of NERS vehicles, equipment nets $127,000