The city of Hancock is considering buying the bus garage that is currently owned by Hancock Public Schools. (Graham Jaehnig/Daily Mining Gazette)

HANCOCK — The Hancock City Council, Wednesday, unanimously approved the purchase of the bus garage and property currently owned by Hancock Public Schools for $190,000. The property is located at 325 Franklin Street, immediately behind City Hall. The property is approximately 0.4 acres in size with a 4,500 square-foot structure and parking area.

Hancock Schools, which had opened the sale for purchase bids last year, announced the deadline was set for Dec. 16. The city had expressed interest in purchasing the parcel, but requested the school district table the deadline to give the city time to consider its options for purchasing the property.

In December, City Manager Mary Babcock said the interest in the property stemmed from limited parking near the city offices.

“The question came up of what we’re going to use the property for,” Mayor Kurt Rickard said last Wednesday. “We’re always using a part of the property, even though it’s the school’s. If it were sold, we would lose the parking that we do have up there.”

Whitney Warstler, mayor Pro tempore, said that currently three City Hall employees park in the lot across the street behind the former D&N building, while the city uses an average five spots in the lot behind the hall owned by the Community hub. Additionally, the trailer used for the Tori Market is parked in that lot. “We definitely need more space,” said Rickard. “We have no parking here at City Hall.

City Manager Mary Babcock said the garage also has potential for storage of evidence confiscated as a result of police investigations, and the machinery used for clearing the downtown sidewalks could also be stored there.