Unsigned letter ends Houma parking lot lease

HTV-10 owner Martin Folse pulled out of a parking lot lease agreement with Terrebonne government last week, but documents submitted to the Parish Council appear incomplete.

The council was scheduled to vote on amending the 2018 budget to accommodate the lease, but the item was withdrawn from the agenda.

The parking lot is at the corner of Main and Barrow streets in Houma at the base of Government Tower, across the street from HTV's office and studio, which Folse also owns.

Chairman Steve Trosclair read a letter at the April 11 council meeting in which Folse said he was “saddened by the personal nature of some of the council" and that he had decided to cancel the lease offer.

However, that letter, provided to The Courier and Daily Comet through a public records request, is not signed by Folse.

Folse declined Tuesday to comment on whether he wrote the letter or supported its contents.

“I’m not going to talk about the meeting at all,” he said. “I’m not going to talk about the letter.”

The letter also claims an attachment is proof that Folse had first right of refusal from Sonny LeBlanc, the previous landowner.

Having first right of refusal means that if a property owner chooses to sell, the person with that right has a chance to buy it.

The attachments are part of a larger document that says “Martin Folse agrees to place a down payment check in the amount of $5,000 to secure the right of first refusal in solely purchasing this property.”

A second attachment says, “Until the closing, the LeBlancs will give Martin Folse the sole rights of utilization of the property for all events. By accepting the $5,000 down payment, the Leblancs hereby take this purchase off the table with the sole first right of refusal given to Martin…”

The context of the document, though, is not clear.

“It’s a private document between me and the landholder,” Folse said.

Folse said he approached LeBlanc in 2015 about purchasing the property. When a lease with Chase Bank was going to end in 2017, the two made a first right of refusal agreement, Folse said.

Critics have questioned why the parish didn’t try to purchase the property.

“I chose not to sell it," Folse said. “Why cut up one-third of one of the most wanted corner lots in Terrebonne Parish and destroy that lot?”

After pulling the lease, Folse said, he is considering how to add parking for handicapped, elderly and veterans on his own.

“The goal originally on that property was to take care of the public,” Folse said.

The deal has been controversial since it was introduced to the council earlier this year. Its most outspoken critic has been Councilman Gerald Michel.

Some council members have since questioned how much the parish spends to lease other properties. Councilman John Navy requested the Parish  Attorney’s Office compile a list of all leases the parish holds and submit it to the council and the administration.

Tension between Michel and the administration further in  creased last week after Michel made a presentation rebutting allegations that he was not performing his elected duties. Last month, Michel questioned why Dove was requiring all of his Public Works requests to be funneled through Executive Assistant Steve Ponville.

Dove said his staff found 51 concerns in Michel’s district that were not reported by the councilman. Dove claimed Michel was not fulfilling his duties. Further issues resulted after Michel scheduled a tour of a pump station in his district but was denied access.

During Michel’s presentation last week, he reduced the list of 51 items down to what he claimed were “three legitimate concerns.” He also outlined issues that administrative staff members missed during their tour of his district and some that he had reported to Public Works for repair.

In a post on his personal Facebook page, Dove directed residents of Michel’s district to submit any issues to Ponville and provided contact information. After posting a response to Dove’s post, Michel said, he was blocked from the page.

-- Staff Writer Julia Arenstam can be reached at 448-7636 or julia.arenstam@houmatoday.com. Follow her on Twitter at @gingerale214.