(1) In any sale of county lands made by any county acting through its board of county commissioners, a valid reservation of oil and gas and other minerals in such lands may be made when in the opinion of the board of county commissioners it is deemed to be for the best interest of the county. Oil and gas and other mineral rights or any of them thus reserved by a county upon the sale of such real estate may be sold by order of the board of county commissioners at public sale to the highest and best bidder after four weeks' prior notice by publication two times in a newspaper of general circulation in the county in which the land is situated, said notice to describe the oil and gas or other mineral rights to be sold, the location of the land involved, and the date, time, and place of such sale; but a copy of said notice shall be mailed, postage prepaid, by the board of county commissioners to the owner of the surface at the time of such notice as shown by the records in the office of the county assessor of the county in which such lands are situated at the last-known address of such owner as shown by said books of the county assessor, and that a copy of said notice shall be mailed, postage prepaid, by the board of county commissioners to the person in possession of the surface.
(2) In the sale of reserved oil and gas rights under any tract of land, the number of acres contained in any one parcel or unit of sale of such rights shall not exceed the total number of acres of such surface land sold by the county to the purchaser thereof at the time of reservation therefrom of the oil and gas rights thus offered for sale. Nothing contained in this section shall prevent a county from selling any number of such units or parcels at any public sale. The board of county commissioners has the right to reject any and all bids.
(3) Mineral rights, other than oil and gas, reserved as provided in this section may be leased for exploration, development, and production purposes upon such terms and conditions as may be prescribed and contracted by the board of county commissioners in the exercise of its best judgment and as such board deems to be for the best interests of the county. Any such lease of mineral rights, other than oil and gas, shall be for a term not to exceed twenty-five years and as long thereafter as such minerals are produced. Leases of any such mineral rights made or entered into by the board in conformity with the provisions of this section prior to February 25, 1955, are hereby confirmed, validated, and declared to be legal and valid insofar as the authority of any such board is concerned.
Source: L. 49: p. 326, § 1. CSA: C. 45, § 25(1). CRS 53: § 36-11-1. L. 55: p. 255, § 1. C.R.S. 1963: § 36-11-1.
ANNOTATION
Law reviews. For article, "Highlights of the 1955 Colorado Legislative Session — Mining", see 28 Rocky Mt. L. Rev. 56 (1955).
Placement of statute immaterial. That the revisor of statutes placed a statute relating to the authority of counties to reserve mineral rights in county lands sold under the title "County Powers and Functions" rather than under "taxation" is immaterial where the statute provides that the term county lands means any real estate acquired and owned by a county under the laws relating to taxation or otherwise. Farnik v. Bd. of County Comm'rs, 139 Colo. 481, 341 P.2d 467 (1959).
The fact that present statutes permit a county to reserve minerals only means that is may reserve and sell the minerals separately. Farnik v. Bd. of County Comm'rs, 139 Colo. 481, 341 P.2d 467 (1959).
Property sold subject to lease. All county-owned property not needed for the use of a county should be sold promptly and as soon as lack of need is apparent, and the fact that it is subject to a valid lease or leases does not preclude a sale; the property surface, minerals, or both, can be sold subject to the terms of the lease, which lease may add to or detract from the value of the property. Farnik v. Bd. of County Comm'rs, 139 Colo. 481, 341 P.2d 467 (1959).
To permit a county to become the owner of and hold at its pleasure unlimited nontaxable real estate, would be to deprive the state, school district, and others tax revenue and by such action cripple other governmental agencies dependent for their existence upon tax revenue. Farnik v. Bd. of County Comm'rs, 139 Colo. 481, 341 P.2d 467 (1959).
A deed of land by a county reserving to the county the minerals therein, through invalid when made, but validated by § 30-11-305, precludes the grantee from asserting ownership of the minerals which by the validated deed are expressly reserved to the county, and a decree quieting title to the minerals in the county is correct. Farnik v. Bd. of County Comm'rs, 139 Colo. 481, 341 P.2d 467 (1959).
Purchaser took subject to reserve rights. Where land acquired by a county through a tax sale is thereafter sold by the county, reserving the mineral estate, the purchaser of the surface, having prior knowledge that the minerals were to be reserved, received that which he intended to acquire and for which he paid. Farnik v. Bd. of County Comm'rs, 139 Colo. 481, 341 P.2d 467 (1959).