Highland council reviews Lamar renewal paperwork and considers $2M easement sale or high-value lease option

The Town Council reviewed documents related to a billboard on town-owned property and directed the Clerk-Treasurer to contact Shawn Pettit of Lamar Advertising to present two options: sell the easement for $2,000,000 or offer a 10-year lease at $200,000 per year with a 5% escalation beginning in year six.

Clerk-Treasurer Mark Herak presented correspondence and renewal paperwork from Lamar; the packet included a Renewal Sign Location Lease that specifies lessee rights to construct, operate and maintain a sign, an initial 10-year term with renewals, lessee indemnities, and an option-to-purchase clause. The lease text in the packet contains an example 'Annual Rent' figure shown as $40,000 in several sections of the sample contract; the Council’s requested lease option of $200,000/year appears as a negotiated proposal in the meeting discussion rather than reflected in the included lease text.

The Lamar packet also explains an option requiring the lessor to grant Lessee the option to buy a perpetual easement prior to any sale, with a purchase price equal to six times the previous lease year's total rental amount. The lease materials specify Lessor responsibilities for tax payments, a right for Lessee to remove obstructions, and standard access and indemnity provisions.

No sale or lease was executed at the meeting; the Clerk-Treasurer was asked to open talks with Lamar and to return proposals for Council consideration at a future meeting.