County Farm Cropland Rental Bids

Bid/RFP Status:

Awarded

Bid/RFP Due Date:

Friday, November 4, 2011 - 12:00am

265.8 Acres of Cropland located at the former Health Care Center up for bid.

The Sauk County Land Conservation Committee is accepting bids for rental of approximately 265.8 acres of cropland located at the former Health Care Center. This property is owned by Sauk County. Interested persons must submit sealed bid proposals on the required forms from the bid packet, which may be picked up in the Sauk County Conservation, Planning, and Zoning Department, 505 Broadway, Ste. 232, Baraboo, Wisconsin, 53913, or printed from the website (see below). Bids are due at the above-listed address no later than 10:00 a.m., November 4, 2011. Bids will be opened at 10:30 a.m., November 4, 2011. The successful bidder will be notified within ten (10) days of the bid opening. Formal leases will be executed between the successful bidder and Sauk County before March 1, 2012.

FACTORS TO BE CONSIDERED

Sauk County intends to award this lease to the highest responsible and responsive bidder. Sauk County will require the successful bidder to execute a lease on the form provided by the County. The lease is available in advance if requested. Some of the factors to be considered are as follows:

1. The amount of cash rent.

2. The financial status of the person making the proposal as it relates to such person’s ability to fulfill the terms of the lease including review of the bidder's credit report and history.

3. Previous experience of the County with any prospective lessee in any rental agreement, contract or program participation.

LIMITATIONS TO BE IMPOSED

1. All land must be managed to maintain existing conservation practices and follow the conservation plan for the land which meets tolerable soil loss limits “T.”

2. The land must be properly fertilized to maintain the productivity of the land. The renter must submit a nutrient management planning meeting NRCS 590 standards prior to any fertilizer or manure application. No crop irrigation shall be permitted.

3. The land must be farmed by the renter and his employees, no assignment or subleasing shall be permitted without prior written authorization from the Sauk County Conservation, Planning and Zoning Committee. Proposing a sublease arrangement shall be reason for rejection of any bid.

Existing trees, shrubs, diversions, grassed waterways, buffer strips and natural areas must be maintained. Activities other than farming will be prohibited.

TERM

The lease shall be for a term of three years. The lease shall commence on March 1, 2012 and terminate on February 28, 2015. The rent shall be paid in semiannual installments during the term of the lease. A certified check or bank money order in the sum of ten percent (10%) of the first annual rent installment shall accompany each bid. Such check will be returned within fifteen (15) days to all bidders except the successful bidder. Forty percent (40%) of the first annual rent payment shall be paid upon execution of the lease, March 1, 2012, and the remaining fifty percent (50%) of the first annual rent payment shall be paid no later than December 1, 2012. Rents payable in subsequent years shall be due as follows: One third (1/3) of the total rent shall be paid in 2013, fifty percent (50%) due on April 1, 2013, and fifty percent (50%) due on December 1, 2013. One third (1/3) of the total rent shall be due in 2014, fifty percent (50%) due on April 1, 2014, and fifty percent (50%) due on December 1, 2014.

RESERVATIONS

1. The Sauk County reserves the right to reject any or all proposals and to accept one deemed to be in the best interest of the Sauk County. The successful proposer shall be required to enter into a lease agreement provided by Sauk County. The lease that the successful proposer shall be required to enter into is available for review as part of this proposal process. Sauk County also reserves the right to impose provisions in the lease which are not specifically set forth in this information sheet. Sauk County neither expresses nor implies a warranty of the acreage set forth herein. This lease shall be deemed between the parties, to be a lease in gross, wherein the renter takes the risk of shortage, and the owner takes the risk of overage in the acreage determination. No adjustment shall be made for any claim based on alleged discrepancies in acreage. Sauk County neither expresses nor implies a warrant of the fertility of the land for rent, nor the drainage system therein. No adjustment shall be made for any claim based on poor yield alleged to have been caused by improper drainage or poor soil.

2. Sauk County reserves the right to travel over and will maintain the road which leads to the site of the abandoned wastewater treatment plant and south onto Highway CH. This road is also used as a county snowmobile route.

3. An existing two-acre cemetery, located off Highway 154, will be maintained and preserved by Sauk County.

4. Access through the site of the old Health Care Center parking lot is reserved for the renter. The renter is encouraged to use the north entrance off Highway 154.

5. Sealed bids will be formally opened at 10:30 a.m. in the Sauk County Conservation, Planning and Zoning Department meeting room 236, November 4, 2011. The successful bidder will be notified within 10 days and formal leases executed before March 1, 2012.
Bids will be reviewed at the regularly scheduled Land Conservation Committee Meeting, November 10, 2011, 9:00 A.M. in room B30 of the West Square Building.