The Murray County Commissioners are preparing to auction off the old Highway Department property on Highway 59, but the auction will not go live for a few weeks yet.
During the Murray County Commissioners meeting on Tuesday, the board authorized the property to be listed as surplus on GovDeals.com.
The county has used the site to sell surplus items in the past, but never real estate. Two representatives from the auction site were available via Zoom to answer questions about the process.
Originally the commissioners had planned to go into a closed session to set a reserve price on the property, but after listening to Colin Bauer of Gov-Deals.com, they opted instead to use language in the posting that says the highest bid is subject to their approval. This way, the county can accept the highest bid if it meets their financial goals or reject the bid if it does not.
“This way the county maintains control,” Bauer stated. “You can decline with no obligation.”
Commissioners talked out some details of when to start the auction, how long it will run and when the closing date would be after the sale.
Emergency Management Director Carl Nyquist, who has been in charge of the Gov-Deals.com account for several years, will gather information regarding legal description, photos, floor plans or blueprints from the buildings and any other documents associated with the property, and send them to GovDeals. They will then get the process started.
Commissioners hope to have the property listed by mid-April, with the goal of having the auction live for 45 days. They will try for a June 1 end date, which would allow them to review the highest bid at their June 2 meeting. They would hope to close on the property by July 15.
There are several dates that need to be worked out, such as cleaning out the salt shed, deciding how to clean out the fuel tanks and moving the items the Murray County Sheriff’s Office has stored in the building.
The property is in two parcels, for a combined 6 acres. According to the Murray County tax look-up, the combined estimated market value of the two parcels is $1,108,500.
In other county business, the commissioners also approved the extension of a conditional use permit for Justin Opdahl.
