Update: Corrected information from Bisbee Public Works Director Matt Gurney, stating that the fire department wanted two shipping containers, and added a quote from Hobbes’ press aide, Christian Slater.

Ever wanted your own shipping container?

There will soon be an opportunity to build a wall along the state’s southern border, thanks to a now abandoned initiative by former Gov. Doug Ducey.

But you can’t choose the color.

I have to arrange shipping.

The seller, Arizona, warns that these are not in prime condition.

And we’ll have to wait our turn until the first attack by a government agency or non-profit, which is expected to happen by October 1st.

Still, the roughly 2,200 shipping containers that Republican Ducey had the country buy should be enough to double down to fill the gap left in the border fence that former President Trump began building. You can build containers as high as miles.

And even without factoring in the $100 million in tax dollars spent on construction, the asking price is lower than what the state paid to buy them in the first place last year.

After all, the fundraising didn’t end there. After the federal government sued the state for encroaching on federal property, Ducey was forced to agree to remove the container at the cost of an additional $76 million in taxpayer funds.

As such, the state is now stuck with all those containers it purchased just for this project, which are now just gathering dust on the grounds of the Tucson State Penitentiary.

So there’s only one thing left to do. It is for the state to remove the container, try to recover some of its costs, and finally solve the problem.

It started with President Trump’s promise to build a “big, beautiful wall” between the United States and Mexico.

The only thing I can say is that there was still a gap before he retired at the end of 2020. And on his first day in office, his successor, Democrat Joe Biden, called for an immediate halt to further construction, leaving some vacant lots that were part of the plan.

Last July, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced it had authorized Customs and Border Protection to block some of the openings, including a 3,820-foot gap near Yuma. But Ducey still issued an executive order just a few weeks later directing these gaps to be filled with two-tiered rows of 130 shipping containers at state expense.

And a few months later, Ducey announced another, broader contract to fill a 10-mile gap along the Sierra Vista southern border within the Coronado National Forest. The government also awarded a no-bid contract to Ashbulit Management and Logistics.

It all came to a halt when Ducey agreed to remove the container just days before he left office in December after being sued by the federal government for trespassing. And the state agreed to pay Ashbulit a lot more money to cancel what he had just put up.

And as a result, the state, and now Governor Katie Hobbs, are all left with 10- to 20-year-old containers.

The most expensive container the state offers is 40 feet long, 8 feet wide and 8 feet 6 inches high. It is listed as Grade C, which means the exterior has “extensive corrosion with numerous dents” and may have had previous repairs or patches, and the interior shows no markings, scratches or corrosion. It means that there is

That will get you $2,000 back.

If you don’t mind extensive corrosion and holes in addition to severe damage, a Grade D 40ft container sells for $1,500.

Need something smaller? A Grade C 20ft container can be purchased for $1,000, while the same size Grade D can be purchased for $500.

But there are only about 100 such small sizes.

The State Department of Administration, which sells these items, says they can be “repurposed” for homes, offices, classrooms and other uses.

However, there are many other hurdles, such as local authority oversight and zoning, depending on the location and usage. And any plans to transport the containers to the facility and convert them into off-site homes would require the facility to be licensed and certified by the Arizona Department of Housing.

But so far, that’s not Taker’s interest.

Administration Department spokeswoman Megan Rose said virtually all of the about 100 cars already looted had been purchased by other state officials who wanted to keep them.

But not all of them. The Herald/Review reported that Bisbee Public Works Director Matt Gurney ordered 13 Grade C containers of different sizes.

He said he needed space to store everything from parks, roads, sewage and sanitation equipment and supplies. And the fire department wanted two of his for their own storage.

All of these are priced at $27,820.

If the country removes all the containers, it will be in the red even after discounting the construction costs.

The Ministry of Emergency Situations and Military Affairs, which made the purchase, does not know the breakdown of the price of each container. But the total amount was more than $13.8 million.

Even assuming all the containers for sale are 40ft Grade C, the maximum you can recover is only $4.2 million. And given that there are cheaper Grade D and smaller containers, the final figure is likely to be lower.

Dan Scarpinato, Ducey’s chief of staff at the time the state paid for the container, installed the fence, and then removed it, said his former boss “supports the project.” rice field.

“Arizona has been hit hard by the border crisis, and the situation is getting worse, yet the Biden administration has ignored the border crisis,” Scarpinato told the Capitol Media Service. rice field.

In any case, it served its purpose, leading to the US government’s commitment to begin work to fill gaps in the existing wall, he said.

“This effort is by no means intended to be a permanent solution,” Scarpinato said. “But it came to the attention of the administration when little else had happened.”

Hobbes spokesman Christian Slater had a different take.

“It was a political stunt and a waste of tax dollars,” he said.

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