Jackson – At the stoop of the Amador County Courthouse, eight bystanders witnessed the apparent final chapter of the Wicklow Way Subdivision when a noon Tuesday public auction drew no qualified bidders and ended with a $1.48 million sale to the beneficiary. Umpqua Bank settled a debt of $4.8 million on the property by reverting to a purchase of the property at a price of $1,484,942 and 62 cents, the listed opening bid of the sale. The 201.37-acre property was in arrears, under owner John Lemke, who had taken the property through Environmental hearings with the Amador County Planning Department and fought legal battles in county courts. The latest was a defeat – a finding by the Amador County Planning Commission to reject the housing and commercial development’s Environmental Impact Report. Lemke had vowed to appeal, but the property instead fell to a public sale. Independent auctioneer Velma Slaven commenced the proceeding on the front sidewalk of the Argonaut Lane county courthouse, as the air horn blast from downtown Jackson marked the coming of the noon hour. Slaven asked if there were any “qualified bidders,” present with a check made out in the amount of the opening bid of $1.484 million. She found no bidders were present, and Slaven opened the auction at the opening amount, asking for a higher bid, closing the auction shortly thereafter and announcing that the property was “sold to the beneficiary.” Among the 8 attendees was Jon Hopkins, director of the county General Services Administration, who said the beneficiary in the sale was Umpqua Bank. Attendees included Jill North; self-proclaimed development fighter Susan Bragstad; Sally Trestrail; and Rebecca Brown; who said they had never attended a public auction before. County Tax Collector Mike Ryan also attended. Slaven said “the indebtedness of the property was $4,833,000, and it went for significantly less, due to economic reasons, I’m assuming.” She said they don’t tell her why they put a bid in at whatever rate. She said she works independently, with no contact from the owner or the beneficiary. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.