By Myrna Trauntvein
Times-News Correspondent
The old hospital is for sale, but it will go on the
bidding block before it is turned over to a real estate
agent.
Neil Cook, commissioner, prepared a notice for the
commission to review but found that Mike Seely, county
administrator, knew the formal wording much better. Seely
worked for the state for nine years in an area where
noticing property for sale was part of his job.
Commissioners voted to have Seely use the basic
information provided by Cook, re-write the notice to follow
state guidelines, and bring back the result to commission
meeting on Oct. 20 for review. Seely will then notice the
property for sale.
"The county reserves the right to reject all bids,"
said Cook.
What commissioners will be seeking is a bid that
strikes the best balance between price and suitability to
the development of the community.
"Bidders should submit bids in two parts," said Cook.
"The first shall describe the purpose to which the property
will be put and the second shall be the price which the
bidder wants to pay for the property."
Seely explained that advertising in the local paper,
while it would still be done, was not the only advertising
that would need to take place.
"By state law, if it is established that the sale
price would be over a certain amount, which would be the
case, then greater diligence needs to be taken in
advertising the property for sale," said Seely.
For that reason, a state newspaper would also need to
be used in addition to the Times-News. That, of course, adds
another expense to the sale of the building.
"Should we also include the fact that the city needs
to be contacted about allowed uses for the building?" asked
Robert Steele, commissioner.
Commissioners knew that the hospital use was allowed
under a conditional use permit but did not know how the city
would view the continuation of the use or what zoning in the
area did allow.
The question was: Should the commission be responsible
for finding out what allowed uses were or should the
purchasing party be responsible for talking to the city and
finding out for themselves.
"I think we should write in the permitted uses as part
of the stipulations needed for the noticing of the bids,"
said Wm. Boyd Howarth, commission chairman. "The city may
not want every potential bidder calling them to find out
what the uses are when they could be included in the notice
that would describe the hospital."
One thing commissioners want included in the notice is
that the building comes with no warranty. It will be sold as
is. The county will make no expressions regarding the
fitness of the building whatsoever.
"The property is sold as it sits with all structures,
appurtenances, and fixtures," said Cook.
The hospital campus is now considered a surplus
property by the county commission. It is no longer necessary
to provide care for the residents of the community as a
health and healing facility and the commission does not want
the county to be in the business of landlord of the
facility.
It was hoped that the sale could be completed in
November but, since the commission voted to delay
advertising until after the second meeting of the month,
that may no longer be possible.
There are notice requirements and it is anticipated
that potential bidders will have the desire to see the
facility before bidding.
Nevertheless, the building could be disposed of by the
end of December.
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