About 48 acres of land at the Missouri Valley Fairgrounds will be up for public bid later this year.

The Burleigh County Commission voted to move forward with selling land at the commission meeting Monday. The commission decided it wants to sell the land in six parcels by bid, but the terms and procedure will be decided by the Missouri Valley Complex Authority.

"It's still very much a priority of this group (the Missouri Valley Complex Authority) to sell," Commissioner Jim Peluso said.

Bid documents will be brought before the commission at its second meeting in September before the public can take a stab at purchasing the land. The complex authority will need to decide if there will be a minimum price per lot or if the lots as a whole need to reach a minimum price.

Commissioner Doug Schonert said he would like a minimum bid, either per lot or for the total land, so that the land does not sell for less than the appraised value. The land was appraised at $1 million to $2 million.

"We should have a minimum bid on the property and not take just any bid that comes in," Schonert said.

The amount of land for sale has more than doubled since the 2003 master plan to develop the fairgrounds. Then, 22 acres were suggested to be sold to reinvest in the fairgrounds. Commissioners still want to reinvest the proceeds from the sale at the fairgrounds.

"We've voted on this a couple of times already," Commissioner Jerry Woodcox said about the proceeds.

Commissioner Marlan "Hawk" Haakenson said he has had people call him concerned about Peluso making decisions on the fairgrounds because "he appears to have a conflict of interest."

Peluso works for the Bismarck Parks and Recreation District with the pools and ice arenas. The park district manages the fairgrounds. Peluso also is chairman of the Missouri Valley Complex Authority. He was appointed by the commission to the complex authority.

Century code requires a person who has a potential conflict to bring it up before other members of a governing board can consider if the person can continue with the discussion and vote.

"I personally don't think I have a conflict of interest," Peluso said. He explained what his job is and what he does for the complex authority, and that he does not feel it warrants removal from the issue.

Most of his fellow commissioners agreed. Woodcox said his background at parks and recreation is an advantage to the commission, and Commissioner Mark Armstrong said it would not be a conflict because Peluso would not directly benefit from the sale of fairground land.

"It's no different than a teacher on an education committee in the legislature, or a farmer," Armstrong said. The person adds their expertise to the discussion, he said.

Haakenson said he brought it up because other people asked him to do it.

The county commission will give the final go-ahead to sell the land at its second meeting in September, once it has reviewed the bid documents. The Missouri Valley Complex Authority does not have a meeting date yet set.

(Reach reporter Sara Kincaid at 250-8251 or sara.kincaid@;bismarcktribune.com.)