§410www–2 Authority of Secretary regarding property and concessions

Summary

The Secretary may sell or lease land or buildings inside the national historical park for prices and terms the Secretary thinks are right, as long as the property is used in ways that fit the park’s purposes. The last owner or tenant must be given a fair chance to buy or lease the property first. If the tenant gets the first lease, the first rent should be close to the last rent they paid, and later rent increases must not go up faster than rent changes in the nearby area. The Secretary can make agreements with private owners of historic places to mark, explain, fix, or restore them and to give help or technical advice. Those agreements can let park staff enter public parts of the property at reasonable times and require any changes to be agreed to by both sides. The Secretary can accept help or services from qualified people, paid or unpaid, and use money set aside for park purposes to improve or maintain leased properties. The Martin Luther King, Junior, Center for Social Change gets first priority for any park-run shop selling books, postcards, tapes, or similar items if terms are acceptable. At Ebenezer Baptist Church, the Secretary may only take actions that support public visits or that help preserve parts of the church tied to the park’s purpose.