HACM approves corrected HUD declaration and order to fix cell-tower lease legal description at Lincoln Court

The Housing Authority of the City of Milwaukee voted Wednesday to authorize a revised declaration of trust covering Lincoln Court and to seek correction of a recorded cell-tower lease that lists the wrong legal description, actions agency counsel said are needed to clear title for a nearby parcel under new ownership.

Michael Best attorney Tom Gardner told the board the original HUD declaration affecting Lincoln Court used a larger legal description than the parcel retained by the authority, and the same incorrect description was later recorded in a memorandum for a cell-phone lease. He said those recorded instruments now appear on the title for property sold by the Clement Sausage Company and are creating an obstacle for the property owner who wants clear title for potential development.

“In 1971 the housing authority purchased a large parcel for the Lincoln Court development,” Gardner said. “In 1990 a large portion of that property to the west was sold to the Clement Sausage Company, and the HUD declaration was released for that piece. In a subsequent declaration in 2002 the wrong legal description was used, and the memorandum of lease recorded the wrong legal description as well.”

Gardner said HUD is updating a master declaration of trust that will cover multiple Housing Authority of the City of Milwaukee developments; resolution 13643 authorizes HACM to execute the revised declaration that would add Lincoln Court to that larger HUD instrument. A separate item on the agenda authorizes steps to procure a corrected memorandum of lease from the wireless carrier that holds the antenna lease so the recorded memorandum will match the tower’s actual legal description.

Vice Chair Gotzler asked what the cell-tower lessee pays in rent. Gardner said he did not have the lease in front of him and offered to provide the lease terms after the meeting. Commissioner Jepes Claussen asked how many years remain on the lease; Gardner said the original lease began in 2002, was amended in 2015 and contains automatic renewal provisions that, from a 2013 baseline, could extend the term by successive five-year renewal periods up to 2033, but that continued occupancy is governed by the tenant’s options under the lease.

The board approved the declaration resolution and the memorandum-of-lease item by roll call vote. Chair Hazlett, Vice Chair Gotzler, Commissioner Moore, Commissioner Burrell, Commissioner Pez Clasen and Commissioner Nelson voted in the affirmative on both items.

The filings Gardner described remain recorded on title until HUD releases the older documents; the adopted resolution directs HACM staff to proceed with the replacement declaration and to work with the carrier to record a corrected memorandum that reflects the tower’s true legal description.

Ken Barbot, HACM acting secretary and executive director, and Gardner said the corrected instruments are intended to remove the mistaken encumbrances that show up on the parcel’s title and to finalize HUD’s systemwide declaration updates for multiple developments. Gardner said he would follow up with the board with the specific lease payment terms after reviewing the lease documents.