H-1432.1  _______________________________________________

                          HOUSE BILL 1787

          _______________________________________________

State of Washington      56th Legislature     1999 Regular Session

By Representative Hatfield

Read first time 02/05/1999.  Referred to Committee on Local Government.

Rejecting bids for good cause in the sale of property by a water-sewer district.

    AN ACT Relating to sales of property by water-sewer districts; and amending RCW 57.08.015 and 57.08.016.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

    Sec. 1.  RCW 57.08.015 and 1996 c 230 s 305 are each amended to read as follows:

    The board of commissioners of a district may sell, at public or private sale, property belonging to the district if the board determines that the property is not and will not be needed for district purposes and if the board gives notice of intention to sell as in this section provided.  However, no such notice of intention shall be required to sell personal property of less than two thousand five hundred dollars in value.

    The notice of intention to sell shall be published once a week for two consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the district.  The notice shall describe the property and state the time and place at which it will be sold or offered for sale, the terms of sale, whether the property is to be sold at public or private sale, and if at public sale the notice shall call for bids, fix the conditions of the bids and reserve the right to reject any and all bids for good cause.

    Sec. 2.  RCW 57.08.016 and 1996 c 230 s 306 are each amended to read as follows:

    (1) There shall be no private sale of real property where the appraised value exceeds the sum of two thousand five hundred dollars.  Subject to the provisions of subsection (2) of this section, no real property of the district shall be sold for less than ninety percent of the value thereof as established by a written appraisal made not more than six months prior to the date of sale by three disinterested real estate brokers licensed under the laws of the state or professionally designated real estate appraisers as defined in RCW 74.46.020.  The appraisal shall be signed by the appraisers and filed with the secretary of the board of commissioners of the district, who shall keep it at the office of the district open to public inspection.  Any notice of intention to sell real property of the district shall recite the appraised value thereof.

    (2) If no purchasers can be obtained for the property at ninety percent or more of its appraised value after one hundred twenty days of offering the property for sale, the board of commissioners of the district may adopt a resolution stating that the district has been unable to sell the property at the ninety percent amount.  The district then may sell the property at the highest price it can obtain at public auction.  A notice of intention to sell at public auction shall be published once a week for two consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the district.  The notice shall describe the property, state the time and place at which it will be offered for sale and the terms of sale, and shall call for bids, fix the conditions thereof, and reserve the right to reject any and all bids for good cause.

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