After being assured the city wasn’t likely to get a higher offer, the city of Beaumont approved the sale of a Confederate monument removed from Wiess Park in June for only a fraction of its appraised value.
The sole bid the city received for the statue was $25,000 - much lower than the $150,000 appraised value.
“This might very well be our only offer,” said Councilman W.L. Pate Jr. “It’s not what we would prefer, but at least it covers the cost to take it down.”
Beaumont Chief Financial Officer Todd Simoneaux told the council before it voted that, despite the council’s instruction not to sell the statue for less than $50,000, the minimum bid was set at $25,000 at the urging of the auction house.
Simoneaux said Lone Star Auctioneers recommended that price in an effort to increase interest in bidding. However, the city had not been given any indication that any parties might want to buy it for more than $25,000.
As a result, the statue will be headed to Ron Holmes of Dallas-based Holmes Firm PC.
The statue, which depicts an anonymous Rebel soldier with a long rifle, was dedicated to the “deeds of valor, sacrifices and achievements” of soldiers who fought for the South in the Civil War, according to words etched into the base of the memorial.
Since it was dismantled, the statue has been stored at an undisclosed location.
Holmes last year paid more than $1.4 million for a statue of Gen. Robert E. Lee and another soldier that was sold by the city of Dallas.
He has not revealed his plans for either statue. However, he did clarify in an email to The Enterprise that he, not his law firm, bid on Beaumont’s statue. City documents listed the firm as the high bidder.
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