City mulls $10k offer for Dolly

By HEATHER CATHLEEN COX
Staff Writer
reporter@sbnewspaper.com 

The San Benito City Commission made a motion Tuesday at their regularly scheduled meeting to table an offer on the forlorn Dolly Vinsant Memorial Hospital building which was received from a bidder at a county auction earlier that day.

Dolly went up on the auction block at the courthouse steps in Brownsville and received one bid of $10,000 by Southern Counties Investment Group, LLC. According to tax attorney John Guevara of Linebarger, Goggan, Blair, and Sampson, LLC., this group bids at tax sales regularly. Guevara said, “I don’t know them personally, but I know the names. They are not strangers to the process.” It is also not presently known what the group intends to do with the facility, appraised at an estimated $1,020,356.

All entities in which taxes are owed to the property, in Dolly’s case the City of San Benito, Cameron County and San Benito CISD, must approve this bid before it is accepted.

Guevara said, “When people bid on [Dolly Vinsant], they understand that the bid is subject to all entities’ approval. They also assume back taxes on the property.”

From the total sale, the City of San Benito stands to see a little over $146,000 in back-owed taxes if this offer is accepted by the county and school district. Should one or both of the other taxing entities not agree to accept this bid, it will become null. Guevara mentioned that Dolly could go back up on the auction block in June of 2013 if no additional private offers are received.

If all three taxing entities vote to approve the offer from Southern Counties, the bidder will pay roughly $284,000, which includes back-owed taxes for 2010 and 2011 and the taxes owed for 2012.

A total of 84 properties were up for bids at Tuesday’s sale, which saw close to 100 individuals in attendance. Guevara noted that this offer is similar to private offers entertained previously but which were ultimately denied.

Read this story in the Nov. 7 edition of the San Benito News, or subscribe to our E-Edition by clicking here.