Bidding dispute arises over sale of state land

A Spokane County woman is suing the Washington state Parks and Recreation Commission, saying she purchased 80 acres auctioned by the state only to have someone else step in and buy the land out from under her.

The successful bidder, however, says in legal documents that he believes state parks employees were trying to circumvent the process by awarding the property to someone who planned to preserve it as conservation land. Jay Mehring, who was awarded the land on appeal, intends to subdivide it, clear part of it and create two to eight home sites, Spokane County documents show.

The dispute marks the second time in the past few months that members of the public have taken issue with how the parks commission has handled a potential auction of surplus land. In June, dozens of people protested a plan to auction land along the Spokane River’s north bank. Some people complained of a lack of notification and confusion over which land actually was being considered for auction. The parks commission eventually decided not to auction that property.

The 80 acres currently under dispute are near Mount Spokane on Holcomb Road. Nancy Johnson lives next to the property and bid $280,000 for it in a surplus land auction on May 31. Johnson said she was told by parks commission employees that her bid was the winning one and that she received documentation that closed the deal. She had been trying to purchase the land for several years and wanted to preserve it as a wildlife area.

On June 4, she said, Mehring knocked on her door and offered to buy the land from her. She declined. Two weeks later, Johnson was notified in writing by the parks commission that Mehring had successfully appealed her purchase and that his bid of $291,299 would be accepted instead.

“The question is: Did the state enter into a contract with her? And the answer is yes,” said Spokane attorney Steve Eugster, who is representing Johnson in the lawsuit filed in Spokane County Superior Court. “They made a deal with her and she received all the documents and signed them and sent them back with a check.”

Mehring, however, contends that his winning bid was received within the assigned deadline.

Mehring said in his appeal that he confirmed through express mail tracking that his package was signed for by a Washington state employee at 11:24 a.m., when bids were due at 2 p.m. He said the bid was, for some reason, held back until just after the auction, where it was received at 2:12 p.m.

He accuses one or more unnamed parks department employees of favoritism in attempting to award the bid to Johnson, who had been working with the department for years to obtain the property and maintain it as conservation land.

Johnson denies all claims of favoritism.

“The bottom line is that I bid on a piece of state parks land, I was the highest bidder, I felt that my bid was unfairly rejected and I contacted an attorney,” Mehring said.

“I notified the state parks department of my concerns, they reviewed the bid rules and procedures and determined that I should be the winning bidder and I was awarded the property.”

The state parks commission, in response to Johnson’s complaint, denied any wrongdoing in awarding title to the land.

The commission is in the process of taking inventory of its land and disposing of parcels that do not fit recreation or wildlife habitat priorities. The money raised is used to purchase more desirable pieces of land.

Eugster also filed a legal action identifying the title dispute and preventing any development from progressing.

However, a public comment period closed Friday for an environmental review of Mehring’s application to clear trees from part of the property.

Dawn Dompier, the county project coordinator handling the application, said she’s not certain how the legal action will affect the process.