HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The city of Hutchinson is getting inquiries about the old fire station located at Avenue B and Walnut. The building has been vacant ever since the fire department moved its command center out to its training center on East 4th Avenue. City Manager John Deardoff says the city does have a policy for selling the building.

“We’ve got a city policy that’s been around for some time that basically has several steps in it,” Deardoff said. “One of those steps is we determine we own it, we can sell it. Step two is that the council would decide whether you do want to sell the building and if you do want to sell it, in what way.”

Those options include selling by bid process, auction or privately. With those options in mind, Councilwoman Jade Piros de Carvalho stressed to both Deardoff and City Attorney Paul Brown her opposition to auctioning off the building. “I want to express my unwillingness to go the auction route,” Piros de Carvalho said. “You never know what you’re going to get there from individuals outside of our community who buy that property and not invest in it. I’d like to see people who have a vested interest in Hutchinson acquire it.”

No action was taken by the City Council during the meeting, but the matter is expected to be on the agenda in the future. Deardoff could not disclose the plans either party had other than the building would stay intact.