Housing authority proposes lease agreement

A lease proposal regarding a tract of land the Morgan City Housing Authority owns was presented to Timothy Armond of Glinda’s D&B Seafood and Convenience Store at the monthly commission meeting Thursday afternoon.
The three commissioners attending voted to accept the proposal drawn up by commission attorney Robert Duffy. Victory Ho, Mark Griffin Jr. and Charles Pye voted on the proposal. Commissioner Carolyn Long arrived later.
The draft agreement accepted by the commission calls for a monthly lease payment of $225 for five years, with an option to be renewed every five years for the next 10 years.
Armond was asked during the meeting if he had any questions or comments to make. He said he had none at the moment. Duffy encouraged Armond to look over the draft agreement and let him or Executive Director Clarence Robinson know his decision.
If the two sides agree on the proposal, the next step will be presenting it to the U.S. Housing and Urban Development for its approval, Duffy explained.
Armond has been operating under a lease since 2007, whose validity has been questioned by commission Chairman Victory Ho, which grants him use of a little more than half-an-acre of housing authority land for a dollar a month.
That lease was questioned by the auditor in the annual audit of the authority.
At the commission’s request, Duffy researched the fair market value of the property and he was authorized during the last commission meeting to make an offer to Armond.
In other business, Robinson said an inspection will be made of all the housing authority units. The inspection is required by law, Robinson said. Notices will be sent out to residents informing them that inspection will occur between Aug. 12 and 15, he said.
Robinson said he hopes residents will be at their unit at the time of the inspection. He has no way of giving a notice of the exact time the inspector will arrive, he said. The unit will be entered and inspected even if no one is there, he said.
Robinson said the authority continues to “turnover” units at an accelerated rate, putting in new tenants as old tenants leave.
After the meeting, Ho pointed out that each time a tenant moves out, long over-due improvements are made to the unit to bring them to safe and sanitary condition, since most residents are living in units that have needed repairs for a long time.
These overdue improvements are being done despite significant cuts in federal funds, he said.
Preliminary approval to demolish 12 units that need to be taken down has been received, accountant Diane Pace said. Other steps remain to be taken before final approval can be obtained, she said.