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State Board conditionally approves APS billboard leases, seeks ban on Pepsi products and cannabis advertising
Summary
The State Board of Finance approved five Albuquerque Public Schools leases with Clear Channel Outdoor, contingent on revised lease language barring cannabis and Pepsi-product (including energy-drink) advertising and on receipt of fully executed, amended agreements. The board said lease revenues will go to school programs via the APS Foundation.
The State Board of Finance on Tuesday approved a series of leases between Albuquerque Public Schools and Clear Channel Outdoor, but only after members insisted the agreements be revised to bar cannabis ads and advertising for Pepsi products, including energy drinks.
Barrett Roberts, an attorney representing APS, told the board the district negotiated five leases for small portions of school property that will be used for billboard placements and that revenue from the agreements "will go to the APS Foundation" and "go directly to the schools that are being used and also directly into the classroom." Roberts asked the board to approve the individual leases, noting APS and the APS Foundation intend the funds for students’ programs.
Treasurer Laura M. Montoya said she pulled the items off the consent calendar to press for stronger advertising restrictions. She told the board she was "not comfortable voting for something that I don't know for sure whether or not Clear Channel would be in agreement with it," and asked staff to add explicit prohibitions on cannabis and all Pepsi products. Montoya said she did not want billboards on school property that could promote energy drinks to children.
Director Ashley Leach advised the board such restrictions can be written into a contingency and that the board has previously approved contingent lease actions pending receipt of fully executed agreements. Members agreed to approve each lease conditionally: staff will draft language that requires a revised lease agreement addressing the advertising restrictions and the director and council must receive the revised, executed lease before the conditional approval becomes final.
On one lease (item 7), APS said it would seek to raise the base rent to $30,000 per year; Roberts indicated Clear Channel was likely to accept that amendment. The board recorded the conditional approvals on separate roll-call votes for items 6 through 10; Member Paul Cassidy moved approval of item 6 after Montoya offered the contingency, and the motion passed.
What’s next: staff will draft the contingency language and work with APS and Clear Channel to negotiate the prohibited-use language and any rent amendments. The board recorded conditional approval rather than final execution, pending delivery of the revised, fully executed leases.
