Bidding for county property takes massive jump, now at $221k

The upset bid procedure for a county-owned property is entering its third month, as bidding continues for the former Sampson County Emergency Management Services site in Clinton. The current highest bid now stands at $221,000, 70 percent over the previous high bid. With still another week to go before bids are unsealed in this round, county officials are creeping closer to what was tentatively set as the July 1 target date to have the property transferred to a buyer.

The $221,000 bid was submitted by Kemp Burdette, the highest of four eligible upset bids.

The previous highest qualified upset bid of $130,000, submitted by Wilcare Facilities, was more than five times the initial bid of $25,000 earlier this year for the county-owned site off U.S. 701 Business and Underwood Street.

Bidding for this round closes at 2 p.m. June 18. A qualifying higher bid must raise the existing offer to an amount not less than $232,100. As of Monday afternoon, the county had not received any bids for this cycle, according to Juanita Brewington, purchasing & contracting officer for Sampson County.

Once upset bids are opened, if a qualifying higher bid is received, a new notice of upset bid is published and that starts another 10-day period for submission of upset bids. If qualified upset bids are received, the process repeats until no additional qualifying upset bid are submitted.

When a 10-day period has passed and no qualifying higher bid is received, the highest bid will be reported to the Board of Commissioners.

In April, the Sampson County Board of Commissioners unanimously authorized the sale of the property, a formality that initiated the upset bid process. The board expressed its hope at that time to sell the EMS property by July 1, 2024.

As part of the upset bid process, the offeror is required to deposit 5 percent of the bid amount with the board clerk, who then publishes an advertisement for eligible upset bids — which would have to equal 10 percent of the first $1,000 of the original offer and 5 percent of the remainder and be received within 10 days after the date of the advertisement, accompanied by a bid bond or deposit.

Once the bid is accepted and advertised, others will have a 10-day period to submit bids over the top of that high bid.

In January, commissioners directed staff to resume informally soliciting and negotiating offers on the Underwood Street property, to exclude the portion that includes the Sampson County Veterans Park, which county leaders have assured will stay where it is.

The board previously expressed its interest in divesting itself of any ownership interest in and financial responsibility for the aging building while maintaining the memorial at its current footprint. The county last year completed its move to a brand-new $18 million Emergency Operations headquarters.