By Derek Spellman
dspellman@joplinglobe.com
NEOSHO, Mo. — Newton County is putting up for sale land that it owns in the Neosho industrial park.
Presiding Commissioner Jerry Carter said last week that the county will seek bids for the 135 acres. Bids are to be returned within three weeks. Proceeds from the sale would be used either to relocate the county’s 911 center or for a jail expansion, Carter said.
County officials in 2008 sought bids for a total of 150 acres of land, located around the Neosho Cinema 6, south of Malcolm Mosby Drive.
The 2008 request drew two offers: $450,000 for the entire 150-acre tract from Neosho Land Development Inc., and a bid of $100,000 from Grundy Land Group LLC, based in Diamond, for a 20-acre swath.
The county rejected both bids as below the certified appraised value, although it later awarded a bid to Grundy Land Group for 15 acres of the land at a price of between $6,000 and $7,000 an acre, Carter said.
Asked about putting the remaining 135 acres up for sale again, Carter said he thought the land might fetch better offers this time.
“We had a couple of calls on the land,” he said Friday. “We translate that into interest.”
The commissioner said he could not release names of those who called, or the appraised value of the remaining 135 acres.
“It just seems like now would be an opportune time to sell,” he added.
The commissioner did say that any revenue from the land sale would be for capital projects, such as the 911 center and jail expansion.
Bids are due Thursday for the relocation of the 911 center, currently in the county courthouse. It is being moved to the former armory building at 202 W. Brook St. Plans call for about 4,000 square feet of the building — which already houses the county’s emergency operations center — to be used as the 911 center’s new home.
The building would be retrofitted to accommodate the new center. A separate entrance would be constructed on the north side of the building, and walls and partitions would be put up to provide space for dispatchers, equipment and training. County officials say the project should cost about $200,000.
As for the jail, the county has been interviewing architects for that project but has not yet made a decision. The county is looking at an expansion of between 40 and 50 additional beds, as well as expanding the book-in area, kitchen and laundry.
Carter said whether the county proceeds with either project will depend on the actual bids that come back.
2008 bidders
Neosho Land Development, which bid for land put up for sale in 2008 by Neosho County, is a not-for-profit organization composed of a dozen Neosho-area business, industrial and city leaders working to attract businesses to Neosho and promote other area development.
Information about Grundy Land Group, the other bidder for county land in 2008, and its plans was unavailable last week.
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