Bids keep coming for county site

The auction for a county-owned property will continue, as a sixth round of upset bidding for the former Sampson County EMS headquarters has seen another high bidder come to the forefront, with now a seventh round underway for a process than began in April.

The new high bid in the amount of $276,100 from Wilcare Facilities, which was one of four bidders for the site off U.S. 701 Business and Underwood Street. The previous highest bidder was Lawrence Watts of Global Medical Outreach, who submitted a bid of $251,000 last month.

The next round for upset bids will conclude on July 16. Bids must be received by 2 p.m.

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 Sampson County Board of Commissioners, which can accept or deny the offer.

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.

The next highest qualified bid must be at least $289,955.

The initial bid in April was $25,000, which then kicked off the upset bid procedure. There have been six rounds of bidding since that time, and the offer is now 11 times that original amount.

To date, high bids in succession have included: $25,000, by Matthews Drug Store; $50,000, by Michele Hinson; $80,000, by Tara Jackson; $130,000, by Wilcare Facilities; $221,000, by Kemp Burdette; and $251,000, by Lawrence Watts, Global Medical Outreach, before Wilcare tossed its hat back into the ring.

The county initially set a July 1 target date to have the property transferred to a buyer, however the county is now past that timeframe. County leaders, in previous discussions, were counseled by attorney Joel Starling that it would be the best course of action to let market conditions, and public interest, dictate the ultimate sale price for the parcel.

At the beginning of this year, 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.

The board previously expressed its interest in divesting itself of ownership interest in, and financial responsibility for, the property while maintaining the veterans park at the edge of the subdivided parcel.