The Powell frog has left town for good, but not before fetching a good price.
After closing the children’s Frog Pond in 2017, city officials put their famous frog up for auction last …
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The Powell frog has left town for good, but not before fetching a good price.
After closing the children’s Frog Pond in 2017, city officials put their famous frog up for auction last month; the frog was taken from the former pond at Homesteader Park to the City Shop to await the results of the auction.
George Nicholson of Burlington emerged as the winning bidder on May 23, offering $1,225.
The auction started on May 13, and the first bid came in at a mere $5. By May 16, the bids had climbed to $450. Then a bid came in on May 20 for $1,010. One more bidder put down $1,200 for the frog before Nicholson upped the bid by $25, where it stayed until the auction closed.
On Thursday, Nicholson picked up the frog and took him (or her) to his private pond just outside Burlington. Nicholson said he plans to install it “right directly.”
“We get all the Park County rejects, I guess,” the Big Horn County resident joked.
In shutting down the Frog Pond two years ago, city officials cited ballooning costs for maintenance and upgrades. There had been talk of making the frog the centerpiece of a new splash pad at the park, but the cost proved to be prohibitive. Instead, the pond is being reclaimed as a grassy area.
The City of Powell’s auction at PublicSurplus.com offered a number of other items as well — including mouse traps, engineering equipment, office furniture and a few vehicles. Altogether, the sale netted $12,620.35 for the city.