Minnesota Legislature
HF 993
as introduced - 87th Legislature (2011 - 2012) Posted on 03/09/2011 10:00am
Current Version - as introduced
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A bill for an act
relating to county and agricultural society lands; clarifying authority of county
boards and county agricultural societies to exchange lands; amending Minnesota
Statutes 2010, sections 38.01; 373.01, subdivision 1.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:
Section 1.
Minnesota Statutes 2010, section 38.01, is amended to read:
38.01 COUNTY AGRICULTURAL SOCIETIES; FORMATION, POWERS.
(a) An agricultural society or association may be incorporated by citizens of any
county, or two or more counties jointly, but only one agricultural society shall be organized
in any county. An agricultural society may sue and be sued in its corporate name; may
adopt bylaws, rules, and regulations, alter and amend the same; may purchase and hold,
lease and control any real or personal property deemed to promote the objects of the
society, and may rent, lease, sell, new text begin exchange, new text end and convey the same. Any income from
the rental or lease of the property may be used for any or all of the following purposes:
(1) Acquisition of additional real property; (2) Construction of additional buildings; or
(3) Maintenance and care of the society's property. This section shall not be construed
to preclude the continuance of any agricultural society now existing or the granting of
aid to the society.
(b) An agricultural society shall have jurisdiction and control of the grounds upon
which its fairs are held and of the streets and adjacent grounds during the fair, so far
as may be necessary for fair purposes, and are exempt from local zoning ordinances
throughout the year as provided in section 38.16.
(c) The society may contract with the sheriff, local municipality, or security guard as
defined in section 626.88 to provide the society with police service. A person providing
police service pursuant to a contract is not, by reason of the contract, classified as an
employee of the agricultural society for any purpose other than the discharge of powers
and duties under the contract.
(d) Any person who shall willfully violate any rule or regulation made by agricultural
societies during the days of a fair shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.
The provisions of this section supersede all special laws on the same subject.
Sec. 2.
Minnesota Statutes 2010, section 373.01, subdivision 1, is amended to read:
Subdivision 1.
Public corporation; listed powers.
(a) Each county is a body politic
and corporate and may:
(1) Sue and be sued.
(2) Acquire and hold real and personal property for the use of the county, and lands
sold for taxes as provided by law.
(3) Purchase and hold for the benefit of the county real estate sold by virtue of
judicial proceedings, to which the county is a party.
(4) Sell, lease, and convey real or personal estate owned by the county, and give
contracts or options to sell, lease, or convey it, and make orders respecting it as deemed
conducive to the interests of the county's inhabitants.
(5) Make all contracts and do all other acts in relation to the property and concerns
of the county necessary to the exercise of its corporate powers.
(b) No sale, lease, or conveyance of real estate owned by the county, except the lease
of a residence acquired for the furtherance of an approved capital improvement project, nor
any contract or option for it, shall be valid, without first advertising for bids or proposals in
the official newspaper of the county for three consecutive weeks and once in a newspaper
of general circulation in the area where the property is located. The notice shall state the
time and place of considering the proposals, contain a legal description of any real estate,
and a brief description of any personal property. Leases that do not exceed $15,000 for any
one year may be negotiated and are not subject to the competitive bid procedures of this
section. All proposals estimated to exceed $15,000 in any one year shall be considered at
the time set for the bid opening, and the one most favorable to the county accepted, but the
county board may, in the interest of the county, reject any or all proposals.
(c) Sales of personal property the value of which is estimated to be $15,000 or
more shall be made only after advertising for bids or proposals in the county's official
newspaper, on the county's Web site, or in a recognized industry trade journal. At the same
time it posts on its Web site or publishes in a trade journal, the county must publish in the
official newspaper, either as part of the minutes of a regular meeting of the county board
or in a separate notice, a summary of all requests for bids or proposals that the county
advertises on its Web site or in a trade journal. After publication in the official newspaper,
on the Web site, or in a trade journal, bids or proposals may be solicited and accepted by
the electronic selling process authorized in section 471.345, subdivision 17. Sales of
personal property the value of which is estimated to be less than $15,000 may be made
either on competitive bids or in the open market, in the discretion of the county board.
"Web site" means a specific, addressable location provided on a server connected to the
Internet and hosting World Wide Web pages and other files that are generally accessible
on the Internet all or most of a day.
(d) Notwithstanding anythingnew text begin in this sectionnew text end to the contrary deleted text begin hereindeleted text end , the county
maydeleted text begin , when acquiring real property for county highway right-of-way,deleted text end exchange parcels
of real property of substantially similar or equal value without advertising for bids. The
estimated values for these parcels deleted text begin shalldeleted text end new text begin mustnew text end be determined by the county assessornew text begin or
private appraisal. Before giving final approval to any exchange of land, the county board
shall hold a public hearing on the exchange. At least two weeks before the hearing, the
county auditor shall post a notice in the auditor's office of the hearing that contains a
description of the lands affectednew text end .
(e) If real estate or personal property remains unsold after advertising for and
consideration of bids or proposals the county may employ a broker to sell the property.
The broker may sell the property for not less than 90 percent of its appraised market value
as determined by the county. The broker's fee shall be set by agreement with the county but
may not exceed ten percent of the sale price and must be paid from the proceeds of the sale.
(f) A county or its agent may rent a county-owned residence acquired for the
furtherance of an approved capital improvement project subject to the conditions set
by the county board and not subject to the conditions for lease otherwise provided by
paragraph (a), clause (4), and paragraphs (b), (c), (d), (e), and (g).
(g) In no case shall lands be disposed of without there being reserved to the county
all iron ore and other valuable minerals in and upon the lands, with right to explore for,
mine and remove the iron ore and other valuable minerals, nor shall the minerals and
mineral rights be disposed of, either before or after disposition of the surface rights,
otherwise than by mining lease, in similar general form to that provided by section 93.20
for mining leases affecting state lands. The lease shall be for a term not exceeding 50
years, and be issued on a royalty basis, the royalty to be not less than 25 cents per ton of
2,240 pounds, and fix a minimum amount of royalty payable during each year, whether
mineral is removed or not. Prospecting options for mining leases may be granted for
periods not exceeding one year. The options shall require, among other things, periodical
showings to the county board of the results of exploration work done.
(h) Notwithstanding anything in this subdivision to the contrary, the county may,
when selling real property owned in fee simple that cannot be improved because of
noncompliance with local ordinances regarding minimum area, shape, frontage, or access,
proceed to sell the nonconforming parcel without advertising for bid. At the county's
discretion, the real property may be restricted to sale to adjoining landowners or may be
sold to any other interested party. The property shall be sold to the highest bidder, but
in no case shall the property be sold for less than 90 percent of its fair market value as
determined by the county assessor. All owners of land adjoining the land to be sold shall
be given a written notice at least 30 days before the sale. This paragraph shall be liberally
construed to encourage the sale of nonconforming real property and promote its return to
the tax roles.