Northwest

<< Previous   of   Next >> Associated Press  (click to enlarge) An unidentified man waits his turn to use an automated public toilet near Seattle's Pike Place Market in July.   ADVERTISEMENT   Related Stories • Good chance to ask about Amsterdam 8/16/08   CONTACT THE HERALD Do you have a news tip? newstips@heraldnet.com | 425.339.3400   Published: Saturday, August 16, 2008 High-tech loos fetch $12,549 The 5 self-cleaning toilets cost Seattle $5 million, but were dumped on eBay after they were used for drugs and prostitution. By Whitney Malkin Associated Press SEATTLE -- City officials have finally gotten rid of five high-tech self-cleaning toilets that cost Seattle $5 million but sold online for just $12,549. Four years ago the city installed the modernistic stand-alone toilets in a hope they'd provide tourists and the homeless a place to do their business downtown. But the automated loos became better known for drug use and prostitution than for relief. Neighbors and city-commissioned analysts said they were less cost-effective than regular public restrooms, and in May, the City Council voted to sell them on eBay. After a failed first attempt, where an $89,000 minimum failed to attract a single bid, the city revised its strategy in a hopes of sparking a bidding free-for-all. But despite more than 9,000 combined page views, only 148 bids were cast. One of the five toilets, which currently graces the downtown waterfront, sold for $4,899, but the average sale was just over $2,510. A Rochester business, Racecar Supply, won all five auctions, which ended Thursday. Butch Behn, the owner, said he plans to use two of the units at the South Sound Speedway, and sell the other three. "It'd probably be good to have a couple around for spares," he said. "We get pretty busy at the track sometimes." Pat Miller, the city's surplus manager, said the city will recover just more than $2,080 per toilet after Bidadoo, the company that listed and sold the units online, takes its 17 percent cut. The money will go into the city's utility fund. "The bottom line is that you're getting rid of the stuff," Miller said. Finding a home for self-cleaning potties that had lived a hard city life was difficult, Miller said, but he's faced bigger hurdles. "Most cities are strange in the sense that periodically, we have very unique things to get rid of," he said. "Luckily, the Internet is making it easier for us to find these things a home." Eight years ago, he was scratching his head over the city's 66-foot topiary dinosaurs, which stood guard outside the Seattle Center. "We didn't know what to do -- they weighed about five tons -- they were just huge," he said. "There were rumors for a while that Michael Jackson had expressed interest in them, in bringing them down to Neverland." The dinos ultimately found a home with a Seattle neighborhood foundation. Across the country, cities seem to deal with their "special" surplus in different ways. Last month, city officials in Saginaw, Mich., sold of pieces of the defunct Andersen Water Park on eBay -- everything from a 360-foot water slide, which pulled in more than $27,000, to nacho warmers, priced at $50. "Traditionally, cities are very good at buying things and not very good at getting rid of them," said Jeff Klopcic, a Saginaw city employee who handled the sale. "In this case, we were able to reach a really big audience -- we had bids on the slide from Canada and California." Not everyone is having success offloading big-ticket items on the Internet. The Washington State Ferry system tried its hand at online sales twice, posting retired ferry boats on eBay for upward of $9 million, without success.

1. Trooper rear-ended by suspected drunk driver north of Tulalip 2. Marysville accident backs up I-5 for miles 3. Democrats split over choice for Snohomish County prosecuting attorney 4. Damage persists after off-roading ban in Reiter Foothills 5. Snohomish County stores dangle discounts to grab shoppers 6. New Age of extra income 7. Thanksgiving tradition flourishes at Everett church 8. Transformed Silvertip 9. Toys that reflect racial diversity haled as ‘about time’ 10. Tips for Christmas-tree buying in Snohomish County 2 - Top 10 Stories Most Talked about 3 - Top 10 Stories Most Emailed

• Ruling in the pool • Holiday Lightings & Santa Sightings • Archbishop Murphy takes title • A season of performing arts • Budget numbers have official fuming • Wildcats move on to 2A semifinals • Holiday Bazaars & Fairs Calendar • Edmonds’ Westgate Chapel serves up hospitality for holiday • Mavericks fall • Boeing will build, flight test and deliver 787s in South Carolina to spe ... • Snohomish County EDC promoting job growth in key industry clusters • $4 million grant to advance brain tumor research has Everett links • Providence medical center construction tops off its 12-story steel frame ... • Tulalip affordable housing project to be financed by KeyBank, Raymond Ja ... • Arlington's Lak of Ink has a growing following for Luke Kooyman's creati ... • Bank of the Northwest formed • Cascade Bank earns $1.6 million