Maverick County Hospital District Board’s Special Meeting to open bids for sale of Bibb Street Property

By: Jose G. Landa, Copyright 2014, Eagle Pass Business Journal, Inc.

The Maverick County Hospital District (MCHD) Board of Directors are holding a special meeting on Thursday, July 17, 2014, at 12 Noon at the Administration Conference Room located on the Second Floor of the local hospital district’s office at 3406 Bob Rogers Drive in Eagle Pass, Texas, to open and discuss any sealed bids for the purchase and sale of its 744 South Bibb Street property.

The special meeting will include discussion with possible action to open sealed bids for the 744 South Bibb Street property. According to a public notice recently published in local newspapers, the MCHD is soliciting offers for the purchase and sale of 744 South Bibb Street property consisting of
.096 Acres until July 17, 2014 at 12 Noon. The notice states that “the minimum bid price for the property is $385,000. Earnest money in the form of a cashier’s check or other certified funds in the amount of 1% of the bid price must be included with the bid.”

The MCHD will go into Executive Session after opening of the bids during open session to consult with their attorney to discuss the 744 South Bibb Street property and then return into open session with possible action regarding the Executive Session discussion and deliberations.

The MCHD Board since October 2013 approved the sale of the 744 South Bibb Street property but several issues have delayed the sale of the property. The MCHD Administration began showing and offering the property for sale shortly after October 2013 with many local and out of town individuals expressing interest in the purchase or lease of the property. Unexpectedly, the MCHD Administration changed its plan to sell the property in-house and requested that the services of a local real estate broker be hired because it was the only firm to approach the local hospital district in helping it sell the property and the MCHD Administration was unable to handle such a sale for various reasons.

The MCHD Board subsequently approved to solicit request for proposals from real estate broker firms in assisting the district sell the 744 South Bibb Street property over the objection of one board member who argued that it was unnecessary to hire a real estate broker because state law required that the property be sold at an auction or sealed bids. The MCHD Board approved a local real estate broker firm after being the only one to submit a proposal and awarded a top commission fee of 6% of the sale price without negotiating said fee. One board member objected to awarding a 6% commission fee when the local real estate broker firm proposal stated that their commission fee was negotiable, but a MCHD Board majority declined to negotiate the commission fee. In the event that the 744 South Bibb Street property is sold at its minimum $385,000 bid price, a 6% commission fee would be $23,100 less than what the local hospital district will receive for its property on behalf of Maverick County taxpayers.

Another issue facing the possible sale of the 744 South Bibb Street property is whether state law requires that it be sold through an auction as stated in the state statue which created the MCHD or other state law allows the district to sell it through sealed bids.

The MCHD Board special meeting on Thursday, July 17th, at 12 Noon should be interesting. All MCHD Board meetings are open to the public.