(A) Notwithstanding sections 125.12, 125.13, and 125.14 of the Revised Code, the director of transportation may sell, transfer, or otherwise dispose of any item of personal property that is not needed by the department of transportation. The director may exchange any such item, in the manner provided for in this chapter, and pay the balance of the cost of such new item from funds appropriated to the department. The director also may accept a credit voucher or cash in an amount mutually agreed upon between a vendor and the department. The director shall apply the amount of any credit voucher to future purchases from that vendor and shall deposit any cash into the state treasury to the credit of the highway operating fund created in section 5735.051 of the Revised Code.

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(B)(1) The director may sell or transfer any structure, machinery, tools, equipment, parts, material, office furniture, or supplies unfit for use or not needed by the department of transportation to any agency of the state or a political subdivision of the state without notice of the proposed disposal and upon any mutually agreed upon terms.

(2) Before selling any passenger vehicle, van, truck, trailer, or other heavy equipment, the director shall notify each county, municipal corporation, township, and school district of the sale. The director shall similarly notify the board of trustees of any regional water and sewer district established under Chapter 6119 of the Revised Code, when the board has forwarded to the director the district’s name and current business address. For the purposes of this division, the name and current business address of a regional water and sewer district shall be forwarded to the director once each year during any year in which the board wishes the notification to be given. The notice required by this division may be given by the most economical means considered to be effective. If after seven days following mailing or other issuance of the director’s notice, no county, municipal corporation, township, regional water and sewer district, educational service center, or school district has notified the director that it wishes to purchase any such vehicle or other heavy equipment, the director may proceed with the sale under division (C) of this section.

In the discretion of the director, the director may transfer any vehicle or other heavy equipment that is unfit for use or not needed by the department to any agency of the state or political subdivision of the state without advertising for bids and upon mutually agreed upon terms.

(3) The director may sell or otherwise dispose of any structure or structural materials salvaged on the state highway system that in the director’s judgment are no longer needed by the department, or that, through wear or obsolescence, have become unfit for use. The director may transfer the structure or materials to counties, municipal corporations, school districts, or other political subdivisions without advertising for bids and upon mutually agreed upon terms. The director may transfer the structure or structural materials to a nonprofit corporation upon being furnished a copy of a contract between the nonprofit corporation and a county, municipal corporation, or other political subdivision to which the structure is to be moved pursuant to which the nonprofit corporation must make the structure or structural materials available for rent or sale within a period of three months after becoming available for occupancy to an individual or family which has been displaced by governmental action or which occupies substandard housing as certified by such political subdivision, without advertising for bids. Any such transfers shall be for such consideration as shall be determined by the director to be fair and reasonable, and shall be upon such terms and specifications with respect to performance and indemnity as shall be determined necessary by the director.

When, in carrying out an improvement that replaces any structure or structural materials, it is advantageous to dispose of the structure or structural materials by providing in the contract for the improvement that the structure or structural materials, or any part thereof, shall become the property of the contractor, the director may so proceed.

(C)(1) Any item that has not been sold or transferred as provided in division (B) of this section may be sold at a public sale, as determined by the director. The director may authorize such sale by the deputy directors of transportation, and the proceedings of such sale shall be conducted in the same manner as provided for sales by the director. The director may establish a minimum price for any item to be sold and may establish any other terms, conditions, and manner for the sale of a particular item, which may be on any basis the director determines to be most advantageous to the department. The director may reject any offer or bid for an item. The director may remove any item from a sale if it develops that a public authority has a use for the item. In any notice of a sale, the director shall include a brief description of the item to be sold, the terms and conditions of the sale, and a statement of the time, place, and manner of the sale.

(2)(a) If, in the opinion of the director, any item to be sold has an estimated fair market value in excess of one thousand dollars, the director shall post a notice of the sale, for not less than ten days, on the official web site of the department. If the district where the property is located maintains a web site, notice of the sale also shall be posted on that web site. At least ten days before the sale, the director also shall publish one notice of the sale in a periodical or newspaper of general circulation in the region in which the items are located. A sale under division (C)(2)(a) of this section shall be made to the highest responsible bidder.

(b) If, in the opinion of the director, any item to be sold has an estimated fair market value of one thousand dollars or less, the director is not required to advertise the proposed sale except by notice posted on the official web site of the department. The notice shall be posted for at least five working days. A sale under division (C)(2)(b) of this section shall be made to the highest responsible bidder.

(D) Proceeds of any sale described in this section shall be paid into the state treasury to the credit of the highway operating fund or any other fund of the department as determined by the director.

(E) Once each year, the department of education and workforce shall provide the director with a current list of the addresses of all school districts and educational service centers in the state.

(F) As used in this section:

(1) “Personal property” means any structure or structural material, machinery, tools, equipment, parts, material, office furniture, supplies, passenger vehicle, van, truck, trailer, or other heavy equipment of the department;

(2) “School district” means any city school district, local school district, exempted village school district, cooperative education school district, and joint vocational school district, as defined in Chapter 3311 of the Revised Code.

(3) “Sale” means fixed price sale, live or internet auction, or any other type of sale determined by the director.