Livestock Association moving forward with potential sale of auction property

By John Underwood / john@gulfcoastmedia.com
Posted 9/8/17

ROBERTSDALE, Alabama — After serving the area for more than six decades, officials with the Baldwin County Livestock Auction Association are moving forward with the effort to sell property on …

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Livestock Association moving forward with potential sale of auction property

Posted

ROBERTSDALE, Alabama — After serving the area for more than six decades, officials with the Baldwin County Livestock Auction Association are moving forward with the effort to sell property on Alabama 104 in Robertsdale, former home of the Robertsdale Livestock Auction, after leveling what was left of the buildings over the Labor Day weekend.

“The decision we made to remove the building was that it had just become an eyesore,” said Association President George Kaiser. “The bottom line was that we had to remove it to have any hope of selling the property.”

After standing empty for nearly three years following the final sale in May of 2014, a salvage operation on the barns and stall space area began in April.

The auction was built and run as a cooperative beginning in 1949 and served as a hub of activity for local cattlemen for more than six decades. Weekly sales were conducted for nearly 65 years, but were cut back to twice a month in 2013.

“We hate to see it go,” said Kaiser in an interview conducted before the final sale, “but we all recognized that it’s the best thing for us to do.”

Kaiser continues to serve as president of the board of directors for the association and said warehouse space which was being used as rental property behind the stockyard has already been sold. After the salvage operation was completed, Kaiser said, the decision was made to remove the office and auction space, in order to sell the property.

“We stay in contact with all the stockholders once a month,” he said. “As long as there is nothing new to report, there is no need to meet, but we still have stockholders to answer to.”

While there has been some interest in purchasing the property, despite rumors of a national grocery chain purchasing the property, among others, there are still no specific plans for what the property will be used for, Kaiser said.

“My grandfather always used to say that talk is talk,” he said. “You can’t believe all the talk. The only thing you can believe in is putting action behind the words and until someone signs on the dotted line, don’t believe it.”