Recently the Mount Airy Board of Commissioners decided to advertise it is taking offers on a sliver of land on Andover land, a parcel that is just 25 feet by 125 feet.

But that decision did not come without some disagreement among the board members.

What prompted the discussion was an offer by a Pennsylvania-based real estate firm to purchase the property for $1,500. It is listed at $2,400 in value on city tax records, and since the city owns the land, the plot generates no tax revenue for Mount Airy.

The issue which prompted the discussion — and three separate votes — was whether the board should accept the offer or make the property available to the public at large.

Commissioners Jon Cawley and Steve Yokeley, specifically, wanted an upset bid process to be advertised. Essentially, that is a public notice that an offer has been received on the land, and the city will entertain additional offers for a limited period of time. Those offers must come in a preset percentage above the standing offer.

Cawley and Yokeley maintained the city should not sell the property without public notice, and particularly without giving adjacent property owners the opportunity to buy the land.

Of course, the land in question is a tiny plot, and the amount of money is almost minuscule, compared to the city budget.

Yet, we believe the commissioners ultimately did the right thing in allowing the public a chance to bid on the land. No one may come forward, but going this route keeps the commissioners’ dealings, however small, in the public eye where it belongs. It gives local residents a chance at purchasing the property. And, delaying a couple of weeks on the final decision certainly won’t hurt the city’s ability to sell the land to the Pennsylvania firm.