County officials have gotten an OK to seek buyers for its Business Development Center, but they had to claw past commissioners to get it.

Even then, the vote was close.

“It’s kind of been portrayed as this, you know, albatross on Butte-Silver Bow’s books and I just don’t think that’s a fair assessment,” Commissioner Russell O’Leary said during a 35-minute debate Wednesday night.

County leaders say there are just reasons for trying to unload the three-story brick building at 305 W. Mercury St. More than anything, they say, it’s costing the county more than it’s collecting in rents.

County officials have drawn up a “request for proposals,” or RFP, seeking potential buyers of the building. They would have to honor existing leases, at least until they expired, and it would cost a minimum o

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