Port commissioners approve three leases

The Port of Greater Baton Rouge’s board of commissioners approved three notable leases Thursday.

One was a renewal of Horizon Milling’s lease for a flour mill and 10 acres at the port’s West Baton Rouge facility.

Port Director Jay Hardman said the new lease — $283,330 through the rest of this year and $106,000 each year after — represented an improvement over the prior lease because of an escalator clause. It is a five-year lease with two five-year renewal options.

The board also approved a lease with Baton Rouge Transit to hold 7 acres for six months with a six-month option while the company considers a bulk distribution facility for wood chips and pellets. The port will get $25,000 for the first six-month term and $50,000 for the second term. If Baton Rouge Transit decides to build the facility half of the second payment could go toward the long-term contract.

The third lease is for a so-called laydown yard for T.E. Ibberson, a contractor for Louis Dreyfus Commodities, which is overhauling the port’s grain elevator after winning the long-term contract last year. The port is letting Ibberson use the 10 acres without charge, though the stabilization and other improvements the company makes to the site will belong to the port, according to the agreement.

Hardman said the port retains the right to use the land with 30 days notice if it gets a deal signed with a permanent user.