Farmer challenges DRAA decision on five-year farm lease

Hobbs Partnership hires attorney after board awards lease to highest bidder

A decision by the Delta Regional Airport Authority to award the airport’s five- year lease for farming ground around the Colt facility is being challenged by brothers of the board’s chairman.

The DRAA has called a special meeting for 6 p. m., Thursday, Jan. 14, at the airport in Colt to discuss their Dec. 17 decision to award a five- year lease to Edmund Barnes instead of the Hobbs Family Farm Partnership, which has had the lease since it became available.

At the December meeting, the board reviewed two bids submitted for leasing of the land.

Randell Hobbs, with the Hobbs Partnership and a brother of DRAA Chairman Shannon Hobbs, submitted a bid of $ 41,000 to lease the 298 acres. The second bid was from Edmund Barnes for $52,150.

The public notice required bids to be “accompanied by a bank letter of credit confirming that the lessee will be furnished by the bank for the term of the lease.”

Barnes presented a letter of credit with his bid; Hobbs did not.

The board voted to accept the higher bid from Barnes.

Last week, the DRAA received a letter from a Jonesboro law firm, informing members that the Hobbs Partnership had retained the firm to challenge the board’s decision on the land.

The main point of contention in the disagreement over the lease is the wording of a public notice the DRAA published seeking bids on the land.

When the farmland was leased in 2015, the bid invitation required the bidder to “have at least 10 years experience in being the principal operator of a farm.” The language in the bid notice that was published in early December last year requires bidders to have “at least 10 years proven and established farming experience.”

“We believe the DRAA erred in accepting the bid of Mr. Barnes as he failed to meet the bid requirement of ‘at least ten ( 10) years of proven and established farming experience,’” the attorney wrote in the letter to the DRAA.

The lawyer cautions the board, “Our client is prepared to take whatever steps are necessary to insure that the DRAA properly adheres to the specific bids requirements that were published and that a fair and equitable bid selection process is adhered to in order to award the farm lease to the most responsive bidder.”

The Hobbs are asking board members to strike their previous decision and award the lease to their operation instead of Barnes.

The DRAA is made up of eight individuals. The mayors of Forrest City and Wynne each name two members to the board as do the county judges in St. Francis and Cross counties.

In addition to being a brother to Shannon Hobbs, Randell Hobbs is also married to Wynne Mayor Jennifer Hobbs, who appoints residents of Wynne to the DRAA.