APSB members, legislator at odds over land swap

A plan to swap two landlocked 16th Section tracts for federal land with adequate public access has become a tug-of-war between some Avoyelles School Board members and State Rep. Robert Johnson.

Johnson said he is willing to “sit down with all parties and work to find a solution” to break up the current logjam over the issue, but certain things have to be done in a certain order before he can seek the Legislature’s approval of the proposed deal.

Johnson was upset by two board members comments that private individuals control what he does and does not file in the Legislature.

“Nobody pulls my strings,” Johnson told the Journal, obviously agitated by board members’ claims that a few individuals control his actions as a legislator. “Everybody knows that about me.

“If they are going to make that kind of statement about me they better have their lawyer’s number handy,” he continued. “I don’t take lightly to defamatory statements about my character.”

Board President Chris LaCour and board member James Gauthier said Johnson told them he would not file legislation to grant the School Board permission to swap two 16th Section tracts in the Lake Ophelia area with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS) due to opposition from four or five individuals.

‘AN OUTRIGHT LIE’

“That’s an outright lie,” Johnson asserted.

LaCour and Gauthier stand behind their account of the interaction with Johnson.

The conversation Johnson recalls was several months ago when he said board members asked him to commit to filing legislation to support a land swap. He told them he needed more information about the proposed transaction , including “what properties were involved and the value of those properties, The School Board can’t swap land unless it is an even swap.”

He said he would need a resolution from the School Board endorsing the action and a formal approval of the agreement from USFWS.

When board members told him some of the acreage under consideration was in Rapides Parish, Johnson said he told them that might not be advisable.

The only comment Johnson said he made that might have been misinterpreted by board members is when he told them to be certain about what they want to do “because a few people might not like it.”

Johnson said he was referring to past issues involving 16th Section properties that attracted large crowds to the School Board meetings.

“I told them it might be wise to get a list of those people who attended those meetings and sit down with them before going forward,” Johnson said.

Johnson said board members said USFWS would not approve the swap agreement unless Johnson committed to seek legislative approval of the deal.

“It doesn’t work that way,” Johnson said, noting that the proposed deal must be reviewed before he can support it in the Legislature, not the other way around.

Johnson’s position is in direct contrast to the USFWS position, creating an apparent roadblock.

LaCour said the federal agency will not appraise the tracts of land unless it knows the bill approving that trade will be filed. The USFWS does not want to incur an unnecessary expense, but has promised to bear all costs associated with making the land swap happen.

Johnson said he will not even think about filing the requested bill until he has a board-adopted resolution requesting the bill and information proving the land being received is of equal value to the board’s 16th section tracts. That would require appraisals of the tracts involved.

Johnson noted that a bill to allow the board to sell a 16th Section tract was introduced by another legislator on the School Board’s behalf only to have the board come back soon after and reverse itself. That bill died in the session.

JOSON, GARFISH TRACTS

The controversy swirls around the School Board’s desire to trade its Bayou Joson and Garfish 16th Section tracts in the Lake Ophelia area. The board has no right-of-way from adjoining landowners to allow access to those tracts.

USFWS has offered to trade two pieces of federal land equal in value to the appraised value of the Joson and Garfish tracts. One is 972 acres in Avoyelles. The other is 720 acres in Rapides Parish.

While 16th Section lands are considered “school board property,” they are actually state property held in trust to support the local public school system. For that reason, a local school board must have the Legislature’s approval before it sells a piece of 16th Section property or swaps it for another piece of land.

LaCour and Gauthier said they asked Johnson to file the necessary legislation, but he has refused to do so.

GOOD OL' BOY NETWORK

“Robert Johnson told our board president that he would not offer that bill unless we get the approval of five people he named,” Gauthier said. “Is this the ‘good ol’ boy’ network or what?”  

He said he is “appalled” that Johnson would allow a few individuals to decide what bills he will file in the Legislature.

LaCour backs Gauthier’s version of events, saying Johnson refused to help the board’s cause “because of the interests of four or five people.”

He said Johnson provided the names during a face-to-face meeting several months ago. LaCour said USFWS official Brent Wehrle was in the room during the conversation and was upset that “four or five people could have control over a decision.”

Board members did not release those names when asked.

LaCour said USFWS has offered to handle all costs and fees associated with the land swap.

“Needless to say, we are interested because we cannot get a right-of-way to Bayou Joson,” Gauthier said. “What they are offering is a fabulous property that would be great for hunters of deer and duck. There are lakes and pristine forests that have not been hunted -- and it has a right-of-way."

He noted that USFWS’ offer to pay all costs of the swap means “we are not out any money in the transaction.”

He said the trade is good for USFWS because the 16th Section tracts border its property.

  LaCour said Wehrle has confirmed the deal is still available if the bill is filed and approved by the Legislature.