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Cowlitz County staff to propose direct sale of small tax-title parcel to City of Longview for Columbia Heights road project
Summary
County engineer notified commissioners that a resolution on the upcoming consent agenda will allow a direct sale—rather than auction—of a small tax-title parcel to the City of Longview for right-of-way needed on Columbia Heights. The parcel’s assessed debt is about $2,000; no final action was taken at the workshop.
Susan Eugenis, Cowlitz County engineer, told the Board of County Commissioners that the City of Longview is planning a road project on Columbia Heights that requires additional right-of-way and that one needed parcel is currently held in tax title.
Eugenis said county staff has worked with county counsel (Doug) and will place a resolution on the commissioners’ Tuesday agenda explaining the Revised Code of Washington (RCW) authority that allows a sale by direct negotiation to a municipality for a public use rather than the normal tax-title auction process.
“The resolution states we’re doing direct negotiations and selling it to [the City of Longview] for the cost of what is owed on that parcel,” Eugenis said. She told commissioners the parcel is very small, a “little sliver” at the intersection of Columbia Heights and Maplewood, and that staff intends to sell it for the debt owed rather than run a new auction.
Commissioners asked basic clarifying questions at the workshop: the county engineer estimated the amount owed at about $2,000, said the parcel has been held in tax title long enough to have been offered at auction twice with no bids, and confirmed that former owners no longer have recourse once the tax-title process reaches this stage.
Eugenis said she would provide commissioners with specific parcel details (exact size, date the parcel entered tax title, and the precise tax deficit) before Tuesday’s meeting. No vote or formal action on the proposed resolution occurred during the workshop; Eugenis said the item will appear on the commissioners’ consent agenda on Tuesday for formal consideration.
Because the county plans a direct transfer to a municipal public use, Eugenis told commissioners she and counsel have identified the statutory RCW authority that would permit sale by negotiated conveyance rather than by the full tax-title auction sequence.
The county will present the resolution and supporting RCW citations at the public meeting; commissioners may remove the item from consent or request further information when it is formally introduced on Tuesday.
Ending: If commissioners request additional information before the Tuesday meeting, staff said it will delay placement of the resolution; otherwise the item will be taken up on the consent calendar at that public meeting.
