Blue Earth County rejects sealed bids for Poor Farm parcels, authorizes broker sale

Blue Earth County commissioners on March 25 rejected sealed bids for six parcels of the county's Poor Farm property and approved a resolution to engage a broker to market the parcels under a conventional sale process.

County staff and Winger Land Services reported that all parcels received bids below expected market ranges. The county split the Poor Farm into six parcels for sealed-bid sale; bids on several parcels ranged widely and overall were lower than the broker and county had anticipated. Josh (county staff) said Winger Land Services recommended rejecting the sealed bids and re-listing the parcels with a broker.

Commission discussion centered on statutory constraints that required the sealed-bid step and on residents' concerns about mineral-rights language in the bid documents. Josh said the county attorney advised that the statutory reservation of mineral rights does not typically include gravel or sand; county attorneys would include exclusion language in future purchase agreements to clarify that gravel and similar extractive rights are not conveyed.

Commissioner discussion considered whether to reject bids individually or all at once. A motion to reject only parcels 1'5 failed for lack of a second; the board rejected all bids by resolution and then approved a follow-on resolution to engage a broker and delegate authority to the county administrator to accept or reject offers after consulting the board.

The board recorded that upon rejection of the sealed bids the county would proceed under statutory procedures to list the property with a broker and that the administrator would consult the board before accepting any offers. Commissioners noted the county can keep any parcel from sale if a later offer is unsatisfactory.

Ending: The board rejected the sealed-bid offers and authorized a broker sale, delegating limited authority to the county administrator to act on offers after consultation.