§ 2-182. Donation of an adjudicated property to a not-for-profit entity.

(a)

Donation of adjudicated properties may be made by private act, and all properties donated pursuant to this section shall be donated free and clear of all liens and privileges for taxes, interest, penalties, paving, and other assessments due the state, parish or municipality thereof;

(b)

In addition to the aforementioned statutes, the application for donation of property by a not-for-profit entity shall include the following:

(1)

Legal description of property (lot, square and subdivision name);

(2)

Municipal address of property;

(3)

Name of the owner(s) of record of the property at time of adjudication and the year of the tax sale;

(4)

A copy of tax sale deed evidencing the recordation in excess of three (3) years;

(5)

A copy of current tax sale bill;

(6)

An appraisal of the property by an approved and certified appraiser;

(7)

A notice of commencement of process;

(8)

A non-refundable administrative fee of seventy-five dollars ($75.00);

(9)

Proof of the non-profit status including the Articles of Organization and the IRS 501(c)(3) or IRS 501(c)(4) letter.

(10)

An executed request for donation, signed by the authorized agent for the not-for-profit entity.

(c)

Upon receipt of the written request and the items in section (b)(1)—(10) listed above, a request for determination shall be sent from the purchasing department to the director of public works;

(d)

Director of public works shall forward a property determination to the purchasing department, which shall indicate a current appraisal is necessary;

(e)

Purchasing department shall send letter to not-for-profit entity regarding status of property, i.e. whether or not it is needed for a public purpose.

(f)

If the property is available for donation, the non-profit [not-for-profit] entity shall complete and execute an offer letter (hereinafter, known as a request for donation of property), attaching the current appraisal, which shall be submitted to the purchasing division.

(g)

When the request for donation of property is received by purchasing department, a memo shall be sent to jury committee regarding the proposed donation of property with a copy of the request for donation of property, the required attachments listed in section (b) above, and the attached current appraisal.

(h)

Upon recommendation by the jury committee, the police jury will adopt an ordinance declaring the property as surplus, not needed for a public purpose and approving the donation of the property to the not-for-profit entity. Said ordinance shall include the following:

(1)

The not-for-profit entity shall certify, in writing, to the purchasing department that it or its agent has searched for all names and last known addresses of all owners, mortgages, and any other person(s) who may have a vested or contingent interest in the property, or who have filed a request for notice as indicated in those records and has so examined:

a.

The mortgage and conveyance records of Rapides Parish,

b.

The current telephone book,

c.

Any other examination resources, including Internet search engines, if any, the records of the Louisiana Secretary of State and the Secretary of State set forth by the names of identified entities.

(2)

The not-for-profit [entity] shall submit the required notifications (R.S. 47:2206(A) and (B)) to the civil sheriff for his/her signature, and then notify those persons identified via regular mail, certified mail*, publication and/or service of process.

*Copies of the "green and white receipts" should be maintained by the not-for-profit as indicia of compliance with the notice requirements;

(3)

The not-for-profit entity shall send a written notice notifying any tax sale party whose interest the successful bidder or donee intends to be terminated that the party has until the later of the following to redeem the property or otherwise challenge in a court of competent jurisdiction the potential sale or donation:

a.

Sixty (60) days from the date of the notice provided in this subsection, if five (5) years have elapsed from the filing of the tax sale certificate (formerly "proces verbal"), or six (6) months after the date of the notice provided for in this subsection, if five (5) years have not elapsed since the filing of the tax sale certificate (formerly "proces verbal");

b.

The filing of the sale or donation transferring the property,

c.

The written notice required by this section shall be that which is included in R.S. 47:2206(A)(2).

(4)

The not-for-profit entity shall cause to be published in the official journal of this parish (currently the Alexandria Town Talk) a notice that any tax sale party whose interest the successful bidder or donee intends to be terminated has, to redeem the property, until the later of:

a.

Sixty (60) days, for property on which a tax sale certificate (formerly "proces verbal") was filed over five (5) years previous of the first publication, or six (6) months if the tax sale certificate (formerly "proces verbal") was filed less than five (5) years before the first publication of the notice provided for in this subsection.

b.

The filing of the sale or donation transferring the property,

c.

The publication required by this section shall be that which is included in R.S. 47:2206(B)(2).

(5)

The not-for-profit entity may file with the recorder of mortgages a copy of one (1) of the notices that was sent to the tax debtor or the current owner. A transfer, mortgage, lien, privilege, or other encumbrance filed after the filing of the notice shall not affect the property.

(6)

At any time after the expiration of the sixty-day or six-month periods, as applicable, set forth in R.S. 47:2206(A) and (B), the not-for-profit entity, or its successors and assigns, may send to this body a written notice requesting that the sale/donation to it be authenticated. The president of the jury shall authenticate the sale or donation within ten (10) days from the date of the request or as soon thereafter as practical. However, the president shall not execute the act of cash sale or act of donation until the district attorney's office has certified in writing to the president, that purchaser or donee has complied with the mandates of this section.

Note: The initial application fee of seventy-five dollars ($75.00) and any other costs incurred by the donee shall not be refundable if the donee elects not to complete the process.

Note: The City of Alexandria and/or the City of Pineville and/or the Parish of Rapides shall reserve all oil, gas and other mineral rights in and to the property to be conveyed, but shall convey the surface rights of the said property.

(7)

The not-for-profit entity shall be responsible for filing the sale or donation and payment of all filing fees.

(8)

The only warranty owed by the political subdivision or the municipalities shall be a warranty against eviction resulting from a prior alienation by the political subdivision or the municipality.

a.

All sales and donations shall be without warranty, either expressed or implied, even as to return or reduction of the purchase price, including without limitation the warranty against redhibitory defects or vices and the warranty that the thing sold/donated is reasonably fit for its ordinary purpose or the not-for-profit entity's intended or particular purpose.

b.

These waivers or exclusions of warranties shall be self-operative regardless of whether the waivers or exclusions are contained in the act of sale or donation, and regardless of whether they are clear and unambiguous, and regardless of whether they are brought to the attention of the not-for-profit entity. This provision supersedes the requirements of any other law.

c.

The writing constituting the sale shall be in the form as provided in R.S. 47:2207B. and the writing constituting the donation shall be that which is included in R.S. 47:2207C.

(9)

The provisions of R.S. 41:1338 shall not apply to the property being sold or donated in accordance with this section.

(10)

A certified copy of the sale or donation shall be prima facie evidence of the regularity of all matters dealing with the sale or donation and the validity of the sale or donation.

(11)

Contemporaneously with or subsequent to the filing of the sale or donation of adjudicated property, the not-for-profit entity, its successors, or assigns, may file with the recorder of mortgages an affidavit indicating how the tax sale parties whose interest the not-for-profit entity, its successors, or assigns, intends to be terminated were identified, how the address of each tax sale party was obtained, how the written notice was sent, the results of sending the written notice, and the dates of publication.

a.

The affidavit may also contain a statement of the interest to which the purchaser or donee takes subject. The recorder of mortgages shall index the affidavit only under the names of the owner filing the affidavit and the tax debtor, as mortgagors.

b.

The affidavit described herein shall be sufficient if it follows the form articulated in R.S. 47:2208.

c.

With respect to a sale, the filing of the affidavit provided herein shall operate as a cancellation, termination, release, or erasure of record of all statutory impositions of all political subdivisions then due and owing, of all governmental liens, and of all interests, liens, mortgages, privileges, and other encumbrances recorded against the property sold and listed in the affidavit.

d.

With respect to a donation, the filing of the affidavit provided herein shall operate as a cancellation, termination, release, or erasure of record of all statutory impositions of all political subdivisions then due and owing, of all governmental liens, and of all interests, liens, mortgages, privileges, and other encumbrances recorded against the property sold and listed in the affidavit.

e.

Upon filing of the affidavit, the recorder of mortgages or the recorder of conveyances shall treat as canceled, terminated, released, or erased, all those liens, privileges, mortgages or other encumbrances canceled, terminated, released or erased under subsection c. or d. of this section, only insofar as they affect the property.

f.

The owner filing the affidavit shall be liable to and indemnify the recorder of mortgages, the recorder of conveyances, and any other person relying on the cancellation, termination, release, or erasure by affidavit for any dames [damages] that they may suffer as a consequence of such reliance if the recorded affidavit contains materially false or incorrect statements that cause the recorder to incorrectly cancel, terminate, release, or erase any interest listed in the affidavit. The recorder of mortgages and the recorder of conveyances shall not be liable for any damages resulting to any person or entity as a consequence of the cancellation, termination, release or erasure of any interest in compliance with this section.

(12)

The donated property can be used only for purposes allowed by the Louisiana Constitution, Art. VII, 14 quoted as follows: "the donation of abandoned or blighted housing property by the governing authority of a municipality or a parish to a nonprofit organization which is recognized by the Internal Revenue Service as a 501(c)(3) or 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization and which agrees to renovate and maintain such property until conveyance of the property by such organization."

(i)

An ordinance to amend the private sale and donation of adjudicated property pursuant to LSA-R.S. 47:2201-2211, or as otherwise provided by law by adding the provisions of LSA-R.S. 47:2247 quoted as follows:

"The person redeeming property adjudicated to a political subdivision shall pay also the actual costs incurred by the political subdivision and any acquiring person for the costs of all certified mail, notice, publication of notice, or personal services of notices in complying with the applicable provisions of law, including without limitation, determination of tax sale parties and the notification of such persons of the sale or donation as allowed by law."

Be it further ordained that because the acquiring person, and not the political subdivision, incurs the costs of the title and appraisal (a required aspect of the statute), those costs are interpreted to be in compliance with the applicable provisions of law and shall be recoverable from any redeeming party.

The acquiring person shall be responsible for advising the tax collector of the ongoing balance of costs incurred and the tax collector(s) shall collect those sums in the event of redemption.

(Ord. of 10-10-05(6); Ord. of 10-8-07 Ord. of 5-12-08; Ord. of 7-11-11)