MUNICIPAL PROPERTY
Article I. Sale of Personal Property
Sec. 20-1. Disposing of surplus supplies
Sec. 20-2. Acquisition and disposition of real property
Article II. Sale of Real Property
Sec. 20-10 Definitions
Sec. 20-11. Invalidation of transfer
Sec. 20-12. Procedure for sale - Council
Sec. 20-13. Procedure for public auction
Sec. 20-14. Notice to boards
Sec. 20-15. Deeds
Sec. 20-16. Re-Sale
Sec. 20-17. Disqualification system for the sale of public
properties
Sec. 20-18. Reserved
Sec. 20-19. Reserved
Sec. 20-20. Sale, lease or rental of municipal property/abutter
notification
Sec. 20-21. Prohibiting Emergency Preambles regarding sale,
lease or rental of municipal property
CHAPTER 20 - MUNICIPAL PROPERTY
Article I. Sale of Personal Property
Section 20-1. Disposing of Surplus Supplies
A. Governing Statement It is the intent of this ordinance to establish an orderly procedure for the disposition of surplus supplies of the municipality, consistent with law, and, to this extent, the provisions of General Laws, Chapter 30B, Section 15, as amended, and the "Municipal County, District and Local Authority procurement of Supplies, Services and Real Property" manual of the office of the Inspector General, as supplemented, is hereby incorporated herein.
(1973 Ord. as amended by Ord. #51, Jan., 1977; as further amended by Ord. #460, Dec. 7th, 1992; as further amended by Ord. #750, Eff. April 16th, 2003)
Section 20-2. Acquisition and Disposition of Real Property
A. Definitions
"Real property" shall be defined as including land and buildings, together with appurtenant structures and fixtures attached to said land and buildings meeting the threshold bid requirements of General Laws Chapter 30(b)
"Interest in real property" includes, but is not limited to, a title, lease, mortgage, lease purchase agreement, rental agreement, tenancy-at-will, or easement, including sale after tax foreclosure, but not including a license or permit, nor shall it apply to eminent domain proceedings, tax title takings nor redemptions or auctions of tax title property authorized under General Laws, Chapter 60.
B. RFP Process - Acquisition
(1) The municipality shall utilize a request for proposal format in the acquisition
of real estate. The chief procurement officer shall, prior to submitting to
the process, develop a written specification and evaluation criteria. Said RFP
shall specifically define submission requirements and contract terms and conditions.
The
submission requirements must require that the selected proposer will be required
to submit a disclosure of beneficial interests pursuant to General Laws, Chapter
7,
Section 40J. A copy of said form will be provided as part of the proposal packet.
(2) Advertising Requirements. All proposals shall be advertised in a newspaper of general circulation at least once a week for two consecutive weeks preceding the day established for proposal opening.
If the proposed acquisition involves more than 2,500 square feet, an advertisement must also be published at least thirty days before the opening of proposals in the Central Register and published by the Secretary of State.
(3) Exceptions to Advertising Requirement. The advertising requirement may be shortened or waived in the instance where an emergency exists or there is a determination as to uniqueness requirements in accordance with the provisions of the General Laws, Chapter 30B and Chapter 7, Section 40J. Provided, however, that all Central Register requirements are met in this instance.
(4) Subsequent to the opening and evaluation of proposals, and, upon selection
of the proposer, the municipality shall submit the name and amount of the
transaction, to be recorded in the Central Register, together with the statement
of beneficial interests as required under General Laws, Chapter 7, Section 40J.
(5) The municipality shall retain the following records of any transaction
for the acquisition of real property interests: requests for proposals; public
advertisement; all
Central Register notices; all proposals received; evaluation materials; statement
of beneficial interests; and the contract for acquisition itself.
C. Disposition of Real Property
The following procedure shall apply to disposition by sale or rental of real property or an interest in real property owned by the municipality where the same meets the bid threshold requirements of General Laws, Chapter 30B.
1. No real property of the City of Methuen shall be offered for sale, rental or exchange of interest unless and until the City Council of the City of Methuen, pursuant to General Laws, Chapter 40, Section 3, or other applicable section, shall have determined the property to be surplus; nor shall any such property be disposed of should it have been previously assigned to a particular purpose or use unless the controlling agency thereof submits the same as surplus under the provisions of General Laws, Chapter 40, Section 15A.
(a) Prior to offering said property for sale, and, in conjunction with the authorization to declare surplus, the Mayor shall submit to the City Council a certificate of the Board of Assessors stating the property's value. Such property shall be offered for sale or exchange by way of a request for proposal process. Said proposal shall contain a property description and evaluation criteria, together with applicable submission requirements, including informing proposers that the selected proposer must comply with the provisions of Chapter 7, Section 40J regarding disclosure of beneficial interest with the Deputy Commissioner of the Division of Capital Planning and Operations. Said proposal shall further contain the contract terms and conditions involved in the exchange.
(b) All proposals shall be advertised in a newspaper of general circulation at least once a week for two consecutive weeks preceding the date established for opening of proposals.
(c) The municipality shall open and register the proposals, conduct an evaluation on the same, and, upon selection, publish the disclosure statement as required in the Central Register, together with disclosure of beneficial interests aforementioned.
(d) The municipality shall retain the following records regarding said transaction: the surplus declaration; the request for proposal; public advertisement; Central Register notice; all proposals received; evaluation materials; copy of the statement of beneficial interest; and the contract.
(Ord. #460, Eff. Dec. 7th, 1992)
Article II. Sale of Real Property.
"City-Owned Land": City-owned land, as used herein, shall mean all municipally owned property subject to sale under the provisions of Section 3 of Chapter 40, Massachusetts General Law.
"Publish": Publish, as used herein, shall mean the notice of public auction printed in a newspaper of general circulation in the City of Methuen.
"Abutters": Abutters, as used herein, shall mean owners of land directly opposite on any public or private street or way and abutters to abutters within three hundred (300) feet of the property line of the City-owned land proposed for sale.
Section 20-11. Invalidation of Transfer
Except as otherwise provided for in the General Laws, the Charter, or City Ordinances, no City-owned land shall be sold nor shall any document witnessing the same create or cause a valid and binding transfer unless the procedures in this chapter are complied with.
Section 20-12. Procedure for Sale - Council
All City-owned land shall, prior to sale, require the approval by vote of the City Council in the form of a resolution.
Such resolution shall include the following items:
(a) An adequate description of the property to be sold.
(b) A declaration that the property is considered surplus.
(c) A clause providing for sale at public auction at or near the fair market value.
(d) A clause providing that the costs of recording the transfer shall be borne by the purchaser.
(e) A clause providing that the City reserves the right to reject any and all bids.
Section 20-13. Procedure for Public Auction
The Mayor, or his designated agent, shall, no later than seven (7) days prior to the sale, publish notice of the public auction of the City-owned land approved for sale under Section 12. The Mayor, or his designated agent, shall notify all abutters by mail of said proposed auction no later than five (5) days prior to the sale.
The notice provided herein shall include the information as provided for in
sub-sections (a) through (f) of Section 12, and, in a clause that no sale shall
be binding on the municipality unless the provisions of this ordinance have
been complied with.
Section 20-14. Notice to Boards
Prior to the sale, the Mayor of the City, or his designated agent, shall submit, in writing, a request for determination of use of any proposed property for sale to the Community Development Department, Department of Public Works and Conservation Commission.
No sale shall be held unless reports from the above listed agencies have been made or fourteen (14) days have passed since the request for same, whichever occurs sooner.
Unless otherwise provided by vote of the City Council, all recommendations, restrictions and covenants proposed by the boards and commissions shall be added in as conditions of the transfer of the properties as if they had been voted upon by the City Council in their authorization vote. Such conditions shall be included in the advertisements as provided for in Section 20-13 above and further shall be placed within the instruments of transfer.
All deeds of transfer shall be in a suitable form as determined by the City Solicitor and shall be executed by the Mayor.
If at the time of original offering, as per this ordinance, the Mayor determines that no suitable bid was offered, he may thereafter sell the same by any reasonable means, including private sale.
(Ord. #128, Adopted Dec. 1982, as amended by Ord. #189, Eff. May 1985)
Section 20-17. Disqualification System for the Sale of Public Properties
Any officer or board which executes a deed to convey property acquired by the City by foreclosure of tax title under Section 80 of Chapter 60, M.G.L., or Section 3 of Chapter 40, M.G.L., shall not execute such deed to any person unless such person has submitted to said board or officer a statement signed under the pains and penalties of perjury that neither he nor any person who would gain equity in the property as a result of such conveyance has ever been convicted of a crime involving the willful and malicious setting of a fire or of a crime involving the aiding, counseling or procuring of a willful and malicious setting of a fire, or of a crime involving the fraudulent filing of a claim for fire insurance, or is delinquent in the payment of real estate taxes to the City in which the property is being sold, or if delinquent, that a pending application for abatement of such tax, or a pending petition before the appellate tax board or the county commissioners has been filed in good faith. If there is more than one grantee of such deed, each grantee must file such statement, and no such deed shall be valid unless it contains a recitation that the board or officer granting the deed has received such statement.
(Ord. #223, Adopted March 17th, 1986, Eff. April 16th, 1986)
Section 20-20. Sale, Lease or Rental of Municipal Property/Abutter Notification
No resolution, ordinance or contract relating to the sale, lease or rental of municipal property shall be presented to the City Council unless fourteen (14) days prior thereto abutters of said property are notified of the contemplated action and advised of their rights to appear before the City Council.
Notice herein shall mean the mailing of such notice, postage prepaid, to each abutter which shall be synonymous with "parties in interest" as defined in General Laws, Chapter 40A, Section 11.
(Ord. #450, Eff. October 21st, 1992)
Section 20-21. Prohibiting Emergency Preambles Regarding Sale, Lease or Rental of Municipal Property
No resolution, ordinance or contract relating to the sale, lease or rental of municipal property shall have affixed thereto an emergency preamble under the provisions of Article 2, Section 2-9(b) of the Methuen Home Rule Charter.
(Ord. #510, Eff. June 1st, 1994)