Housing authority reaches lease agreement with store

The Morgan City Housing Authority board approved a new lease agreement Thursday with Glinda’s D & B Seafood & Convenience Store replacing a $1 per month lease with a $225 per month lease based on the appraisal value of the land.
The Morgan City Housing Authority and Tim Armond, co-owner of Glinda’s D & B Seafood & Convenience Store, came to a lease agreement.
However, a start date for the lease has not yet been set pending U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development approval, Morgan City Housing Authority Executive Director Clarence Robinson said.
The lease agreement consists of a $225 monthly lease payment for five years, with an option to be renewed every five years for the next 10 years. The lease amount was determined based on the real estate appraisal evaluation of the property, Housing Authority Attorney Robert Duffy said.
The Daily Review previously reported that the current lease was for 10 years totaling $120 with an option to be renewed another 10 years on the same terms.
The current lease was questioned in the 2013 fiscal year audit, released on June 9. The 2007 lease agreement stipulated that the housing authority would lease the land to Armond for a dollar a month. The property is about 25,385 square feet, or slightly more than half an acre.
The board also approved the housing authority’s federally mandated raising of the flat rent rate to 80 percent of the area’s fair market rent as of June 1, except in a case where a family’s existing rental payment will increase by more than 35 percent, the new flat rent rate shall be phased in as necessary to ensure that a family’s existing rent does not increase by more than 35 percent annually, according to the resolution.
Housing Authority Attorney Robert Duffy said Thursday he had no new information regarding the case of misuse of public funds and plans to bring the matter back to the board in 60 days.
The board approved Hoodstock to hold its fourth annual event from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Oct. 11 at Brownell Homes. The event is meant to unite the community and promote social and political involvement, founder Courtney Long said. Hoodstock will have a health and wellness portion from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., he said.
Representatives from the Patterson Health Care Center will be doing free health screenings, Long said. Gospel bands and poets will perform, and public officials will come out to meet with community members, he said.
In other business, the board approved a revised tenant lease agreement that will be effective as of Sept. 1.
—Approved the sale of surplus equipment, which included a 2003 Ford E-250 Cargo Van, a 1991 Ford F800 Dump Truck and a 2000 Laymore 8HC Broom Sweeper.
—Approved a contract with 2rw Consultants Inc. in Charlottesville, Virginia, to review and update the housing authority’s Section 8 Program allowances.