Hearing set June 24 on 16th Section leases lawsuit

    A hearing will be held at 9 a.m. June 24 before District Judge Billy Bennett on a lawsuit seeking to throw out the Avoyelles School Board’s dramatic price hike on 16th Section camp leases.

   As promised and expected, a group of 22 camp owners filed suit against the School Board last week, claiming the board illegally raised the yearly lease rates for camp sites on School Board property.

   The lawsuit, entitled Jimmie Juneau, et al v. the Avoyelles Parish School Board, was filed in 12th Judicial District Court  June 3. The lawsuit involves 14 campsites leased from the School Board. The group is being represented by Alexandria attorney Ricky Sooter. 

   The board was told that state law requires that leases reflect a fair market value. Alternatively, it would have to seek bids and award the lease to the high bidder. 

   The board raised camp leases from $400 and $500 a year to $1,500 a year for off-water leases and $1,800 a year for waterfront leases after it received an appraisal in February to set that market value. 

   The lawsuit seeks a “writ of mandamus” -- a court order to a “public agency or governmental body to perform an act required by law when it has neglected to do so.” The suit argues the board erred in raising the lease rates because the appraisal on which it based its decision was flawed.

    Leaseholders allege the appraisal is invalid for setting a fair market lease rate because it fails to identify the parcels to which the value applies and assumes all parcels are the same in size, accessibility and availability of utilities -- all factors which would usually affect a lease price. A proposal to have the properties appraised using a four-tiered system to set lease rates was defeated on a 4-4 vote at the School Board’s April 7 meeting. Board member Freeman Ford was absent for that vote.

   In addition to promising to file suit on this issue, leaders in the “Rally for the People of Spring Bayou” protest had threatened to seek recall elections of some, if not all, board members.

   Ryan Juneau, a leader in that organization, said the group has set aside any plans for recall efforts at this time.