2006 Minnesota Statutes

16B.282 SURVEYS, APPRAISALS, AND SALE.
    Subdivision 1. Appraisal; notice and offer to public bodies. (a) Before offering any surplus
state-owned lands for sale, the commissioner may survey the lands and, if the value of the lands is
estimated to be $40,000 or less, may have the lands appraised. The commissioner shall have the
lands appraised if the estimated value is in excess of $40,000.
(b) The appraiser shall, before entering upon the duties of the office, take and subscribe an
oath that the appraiser will faithfully and impartially discharge the duties of appraiser according
to the best of the appraiser's ability and that the appraiser is not interested, directly or indirectly, in
any of the lands to be appraised or the timber or improvements on the lands or in the purchase of
the lands, timber, or improvements and has entered into no agreement or combination to purchase
any of the lands, timber, or improvements. The oath shall be attached to the appraisal report.
(c) Before offering surplus state-owned lands for public sale, the lands shall first be offered
to the city, county, town, school district, or other public body corporate or politic in which the
lands are situated for public purposes and the lands may be sold for public purposes for not less
than the appraised value of the lands. To determine whether a public body desires to purchase the
surplus land, the commissioner shall give a written notice to the governing body of each political
subdivision whose jurisdictional boundaries include or are adjacent to the surplus land. If a public
body desires to purchase the surplus land, it shall submit a written offer to the commissioner
no later than two weeks after receipt of notice setting forth in detail its reasons for desiring to
acquire and its intended use of the land. In the event that more than one public body tenders an
offer, the commissioner shall determine which party shall receive the property and shall submit
written findings regarding the decision. If lands are offered for sale for public purposes and if
a public body notifies the commissioner of its desire to acquire the lands, the public body may
have up to two years from the date of the accepted offer to commence payment for the lands in
the manner provided by law.
    Subd. 2. Public sale requirements. (a) Lands certified as surplus by the head of a
department or agency under section 16B.281 shall be offered for public sale by the commissioner
as provided in this subdivision. After complying with subdivision 1 and before any public sale of
surplus state-owned land is made, the commissioner shall publish a notice of the sale at least once
each week for four successive weeks in a legal newspaper and also in a newspaper of general
distribution in the city or county in which the real property to be sold is situated. The notice shall
specify the time and place at which the sale will commence, a general description of the lots or
tracts to be offered, and a general statement of the terms of sale. Each tract or lot shall be sold
separately and shall be sold for no less than its appraised value.
(b) Parcels remaining unsold after the offering may be sold to anyone agreeing to pay the
appraised value. The sale shall continue until all parcels are sold or until the commissioner orders
a reappraisal or withdraws the remaining parcels from sale.
(c) Except as provided in section 16B.283, the cost of any survey or appraisal as provided
in subdivision 1 shall be added to and made a part of the appraised value of the lands to be
sold, whether to any political subdivision of the state or to a private purchaser as provided in
this subdivision.
History: 2004 c 262 art 1 s 3