§410www–2 Authority of Secretary Regarding Property and Concessions

Summary

The Secretary may sell or lease property inside the national historical park on terms he thinks will keep the property used in ways that fit the park’s purposes. The last owner or renter must be given a fair chance to buy or lease first. If the Secretary leases to the last tenant, the first rent must not be much higher than the rent they were paying before, and later rent increases cannot be more than the normal rise in rents nearby. The Secretary can also make agreements with owners of historic or cultural properties to mark, explain, restore, and help preserve them. Those agreements must allow reasonable access to public areas and require mutual agreement before changes are made. These rules also apply to properties in the Martin Luther King, Junior, Preservation District. The Secretary can accept help or services, paid or unpaid, from qualified people or groups and may spend appropriated funds to improve or maintain properties he leases. The Martin Luther King, Junior, Center for Social Change gets first preference for any concession contract to sell books, postcards, tapes, or similar park-related items in Secretary-run facilities, if acceptable terms can be agreed. At Ebenezer Baptist Church, the Secretary may only act to support public visits or to help maintain or preserve the parts of the church that relate to the park’s purposes.