The Executive Director, has the sole authority to select, inspect and to acquire by contract, in the name of the State, real property which is necessarily required by any spending unit except those spending units exempted under W. Va. Code § 5A-10-2. Said real property to be acquired may be purchased from Department of Administration funds, the requesting spending unit's funds, or any other funds available to a requesting spending unit which may properly be applied to the purchase of real property.
9.2. Applicability. Any contracts wherein the State purchases real property, is deeded real property, or has the right or option to purchase real property at any time or at the conclusion of the contract, shall be treated as a real property acquisition under Section 9 of this Rule.
9.3. Request to Purchase Real Property. 9.3.a. A spending unit desiring to have the Executive Director acquire real property on its behalf shall submit to the Real Estate Division a completed Requisition for Real Property on the form provided by the Real Estate Division signed by the chief executive officer of the spending unit or his or her designee. The requisition shall require that the spending unit provide information necessary for the Executive Director to accurately assess the spending unit's real property needs, including but not limited to, the number of employees contemplated in the request, current location and space utilized, anticipated location and space to be utilized, customer needs, parking needs, and any other information which the Executive Director may request be provided. The requisition shall contain a certification by the chief executive officer of the spending unit or his or her designee that the real property is necessarily required for the proper function of the spending unit and that satisfactory grounds, buildings, office space or other space are not available on real property now owned or leased by the State.9.3.b. Upon receipt of the spending unit's request, the Executive Director may require further justification or may approve the request as written. If the spending unit has requested a specific location or property (referred to herein as "sole source") the Executive Director may approve the sole source request with written justification made by the spending unit explaining in detail why the real property is being requested as a sole source. The Executive Director may make any further inquiry or investigation and may require any further certification from the spending unit that he or she deems necessary to determine whether an approval of the sole source request is in the best interests of the State.9.4. Selection. 9.4.a. If a request for real property which is not a sole source is approved, the spending unit shall submit criteria for the real property to be acquired to the Executive Director. The Executive Director shall review the submitted criteria and may include this criteria in any bid specifications or requirements that may be set forth in a Solicitation of Interest.9.4.b. The Executive Director may, at his or her discretion, issue a Solicitation of Interest in the State Purchasing Bulletin and by whatever other means he or she so chooses in order to elicit responses from the largest number of potential bidders.9.4.c. Where a Solicitation of Interest is issued, the Real Estate Division shall provide specifications to all potential bidders. Bid specifications may include special considerations, including but not limited to, consideration for revitalization of downtown areas and historical areas, and facilities that are on the National Register of Historic Places.9.4.d. Where bids are received pursuant to a Solicitation of Interest, an evaluation committee shall be appointed by the spending unit with the approval of the Executive Director, or, at the request of the spending unit, the Executive Director may form an evaluation committee on behalf of the spending unit to review and rank qualifying bids. The evaluation committee shall consist of persons possessing expertise or knowledge associated with the real property to be acquired. Each member of the evaluation committee shall complete and sign a non-conflict of interest form, as provided by the Executive Director, as to the bids to be evaluated.9.4.e. Where bids are received pursuant to a Solicitation of Interest, the Executive Director shall select one or more bidders, if any, ranked by the evaluation committee and initiate negotiations with the bidder(s) pursuant to Subsection 9.5 of this Rule. All non-selected bidders shall be promptly notified by the Executive Director. The Executive Director reserves the right to cancel a Solicitation of Interest at any time.9.5. Negotiation. The Executive Director shall negotiate with a sole source property owner or, if applicable, one or more selected bidders pursuant to Subsection 9.4.e of this Rule. The Executive Director may enter into simultaneous negotiations with any of the selected bidders. All recommendations and bids shall remain confidential until execution of the contract.
9.6. Fair Market Value. Before executing any contract, the Executive Director shall determine the fair market value of the real property by the manner in which he or she determines to be most efficient and effective for the spending unit's request. To determine the fair market value of the real property requested, the Executive Director may cause an appraisal to be conducted by a licensed real estate appraiser and may require the spending unit to pay for the cost of the appraisal.
9.7. Preparation of Contract to Purchase Real Property. A contract shall be prepared by the Executive Director, and shall not be executed until the spending unit's chief executive officer or his or her designee has provided the Executive Director with a written certification, in the form provided by the Real Estate Division, that sufficient funds are available and may be properly applied to the purchase price of the real property to be acquired by the Executive Director. Upon receipt of the certification of funding, the Executive Director shall inform the State Auditor of the impending real property acquisition, and of the funds which will be applied to the purchase price of the real property.
9.8. Execution by the Seller. 9.8.a. When the seller is a corporation, or other corporate entity, the contract shall be executed by its president or vice president and duly attested to by another officer of the corporation, usually the secretary. The corporate seal shall be affixed, when available.9.8.b. When the seller is a limited liability company which is member managed, any member authorized to bind the limited liability company shall execute the contract. When the seller is a limited liability company which is manager managed, the manager shall execute the contract on behalf of the limited liability company.9.8.c. When the seller is an individual or sole proprietor, the contract shall be executed by the owner of the property or his or her authorized representative.9.8.d. When the seller is a partnership, any partner authorized to bind the partnership shall execute the contract. In a limited partnership, the general partner may execute the contract on behalf of the limited partners.9.8.e. When an individual or sole proprietor is married, his or her spouse must also execute the contract, even if the subject property has been deeded to only one of the parties.9.8.f. If an individual or corporate entity other than the owner of the property is authorized to execute the contract on behalf of the owner, written authorization, duly signed by the property owner, shall be filed with the Executive Director at the time of execution of the contract by the seller.9.9. Execution by the Executive Director. The Executive Director shall execute each contract in the name of the State for and on behalf of the spending unit requesting the real property after execution by the seller. Execution of a contract by the Executive Director on behalf of a spending unit will in no way make the Executive Director, the Secretary or the Department of Administration, or any party other than the spending that provided the Executive Director with a certification of funding pursuant to Subsection 9.7 of this Rule, responsible for the payment of any sums contemplated by the contract.
9.10. Approval as to Form Following execution of the contract by the Executive Director, the contract shall be transmitted to the office of the Attorney General for approval as to form. Contracts that have been approved as to form by the Attorney General shall be filed with the Real Estate Division, with copies being sent to the seller, and the spending unit.
W. Va. Code R. § 148-19-9