Wasco County commissioners on July 2 voted unanimously to accept the results of a sealed-bid auction for county-owned parcels and approve the sales of seven properties.

The action means the county will remove those parcels from its inventory and return them to private ownership once winning bidders pay in full. Jill Amery, Wasco County assessor and tax collector, told the board the sealed-bid process closed June 17 and produced “23 bids in all,” with “the total proceeds [of] $314,450.” Amery said the combined minimum total bid for the offered parcels was $254,810.

Why this matters: Amery said a recently passed state house bill changes how proceeds from county land sales are processed. She told commissioners the county will first deduct its sale costs and expenses, place the net proceeds in a fund, and then distribute them under the new state process once it becomes effective.

Details: Amery said the county started with 11 parcels, removed two from the offering, and ultimately sold seven. She told the board the winning bidders will have 30 days to pay in full and secure the properties. When bidders fail to perform, Amery said county practice is to offer the property to the next-highest bidder.

Board action: Commissioner Phil (identified in the record as Phil) moved to “approve the county assessor’s/tax collector’s acceptance of the bids and approve the sales of parcels” and read the list of parcel identifiers into the record. A second was made and the motion passed unanimously; the chair recorded a unanimous vote.

Clarifying details recorded at the meeting include the county’s expectation to hold net proceeds until the state’s new procedure is active and the assessor’s description of how unsold or nonperforming-bid situations have been handled historically (live auction wait periods and outreach to contiguous owners). The assessor also said the county had about 700 properties partly or wholly in mapped floodplain areas (a separate topic at the hearing) but that there are not many county-held parcels left in regular inventory.

What happens next: The assessor’s office will record the accepted sales and follow the payment and conveyance procedures; the county will hold proceeds pending the state’s implementation of the new distribution process described by Amery.