Minutes of the

BOARD OF ASSESSORS MEETING

Town Hall, Wednesday, February 13, 2002

 

CALL TO ORDER:                          The meeting was called to order at 9:00 AM by Chairperson Jack Kosko.

 

MEMBERS PRESENT:                   Mr. Kosko, Mr. Steven Roderick, Mr. Rick Tourgee, Ms. Betty Newman (alternate)

                                                           

MEMBERS ABSENT:                     Ms. Pam Parmakian, Ms. Leslie Parsons (Excused)     

 

OTHERS PRESENT:                        Staff:  Mr. Dana Faris, Principal Assessor; Mr. John

                                                            Warner, Assessing Department Clerk

 

MINUTES:

Mr. Roderick moved, seconded by Mr. Tourgee, to approve the minutes of the January 29 and 31, 2001 meetings as written.  The motion carried by a vote of 4-0.

 

PUBLIC STATEMENTS: There were no public statements.

 

CORRESPONDENCE:  Mr. Faris reported on the following recent correspondence sent or received by the Assessors’ Office:

1.      A memo from Mr. Faris to the Board of Selectmen outlining Tax Levy basics

2.      A copy of a memo from Keith Bergman, Town Manager, to the Board of Selectmen regarding a proposal for a property tax exemption for affordable housing rentals for low-income tenants.

3.      A letter from Mr. Faris concerning the taxable status of the property located at 288 Bradford St.

4.      A copy of a letter from Magdalena  Pavlak of the Department of Environmental Protection to Robert O’Malley regarding the properties located at 145 & 147 Commercial St.

5.      A copy of a letter from Stephan J. Nofield, Town Clerk, to George Mazareas, Director of Economic Assistance, regarding the Massachusetts Office of Business Development’s TTF agreement with two businesses in town.

6.      A copy of a letter from Warren Alexander, Building Commissioner to Robert J. Martin regarding permitted uses for the property located at 78 West Vine St.

7.      A copy of a memo from Mr. Bergman to the Provincetown Housing Authority regarding the future of the current Cape End Manor property located at 100 Alden St.

8.      An invoice for a copy of assessing department data.

 

Executive Session:  At 9:10 AM, Mr. Roderick moved, seconded by Mr. Tourgee, to go into executive session for the purpose of discussing pending Appellate Tax Board cases.

At 9:35, Mr. Roderick moved, seconded by Mr. Tourgee, to come out of executive session.  The motion carried by a vote of 4-0.  Following their executive session, the Board made the following motions:

1.      141-143 Commercial Street Realty Trust, 143 Commercial St.  Mr. Roderick moved, seconded by Mr. Tourgee, to offer a settlement for the pending FY 2000 Appellate Tax Board case in the amount of $696,700.  The motion carried by a vote of 4-0.

2.      583 Commercial Street Realty Trust, 583-583A Commercial St.  Mr. Tourgee moved, seconded by Mr. Roderick, to offer a settlement for the pending FY 2000 Appellate Tax Board case in the amount of $700,000.  The motion carried by a vote of 4-0.

3.      Land’s End at Gull Hill, Inc., 20A & 22 Commercial St.  Mr. Roderick moved, seconded by Ms. Newman, to offer a settlement for these two pending FY 2001 Appellate Tax Board cases in the amount of $2,150,000.  The motion carried by a vote of 4-0.

4.      Land’s End at Gull Hill, Inc., 50 Point St.  Mr. Roderick moved, seconded by Mr. Tourgee, to offer a settlement for the pending FY 2001 Appellate Tax Board case in the amount of $175,000.  The motion carried by a vote of 4-0.

5.      Schoolman Charitable Nominee Trust, 54 Point St.  Mr. Tourgee moved, seconded by Mr. Roderick, to offer a settlement for the pending FY2001 Appellate Tax Board case in the amount of $770,000.  The motion carried by a vote of 4-0.

 

NEW BUSINESS

 

Uncollectible Personal Property Taxes:  Mr. Tourgee moved, seconded by Ms. Newman, to abate certain personal property taxes deemed uncollectible as notified by the Collector.  The motion carried by a vote of 3-0-1.

 

Unpaid Water Bills:  Mr. Faris presented the Board with a list of unpaid water bills from the Water and Sewer Board.  Ms. Newman moved, seconded by Mr. Tourgee, to commit these bills to the Tax Collector for inclusion on the fiscal year 2002 real property tax bills.  The motion carried by a vote of 4-0.

 

Motor Vehicle Excise Tax Abatements:  Mr. Warner reported on the following applications for abatement and recommended that they be granted:

·        Fully abate five bills from 2002 as a result of bills issued in error

·        Partially abate six bills from 2002 as a result of sales and trades.

Mr. Tourgee moved, seconded by Ms. Newman to abate these tax bills in accordance with staff recommendations.  The motion carried by a vote of 4-0.

 

Boat Excise Tax Abatements:  There were no applications to consider for this period.

 

Tax Rate Classification Hearing:  Mr. Faris informed the Board that the Board of Selectmen will hold its annual Tax Rate Classification hearing on March 11, 2002 at 6:00 PM.  The Board of Selectmen has asked for input from the Assessors for this hearing on the following questions:

1.      Split Tax Rate:  Mr. Roderick moved, seconded by Ms. Newman, to recommend that the Board of Selectmen not adopt a split tax rate between the commercial and residential classes.  The motion carried by a vote of 4-0.

2.      Residential Exemption:  Mr. Roderick moved, seconded by Mr. Tourgee, to recommend that the Selectmen not adopt a residential exemption.  The motion carried by a vote of 4-0.

3.      Small Commercial Exemption:  Mr. Roderick moved, seconded by Mr. Tourgee, to recommend that the Selectmen not adopt a small commercial exemption.  The motion carried by a vote of 4-0.

 

Property Tax Exemption for Affordable Year-round rental Housing:  Mr. Tourgee moved, seconded by Ms. Newman, to have the Board of Assessors co-sponsor  this article for the April Special Town Meeting.  The motion carried by a vote of 4-0.

 

OTHER/MISCELLANEOUS:

 

Assessing Team and Office News:  There was no assessing team or office news that was not fully covered elsewhere in the minutes.

 

Future Meeting Dates:  No future meeting was scheduled at this time.

 

ADJOURNMENT:  There being no further business to come before the Board, Mr. Tourgee moved that the meeting be adjourned at 10:00 AM and the meeting was adjourned.

 

 

Respectfully submitted:

 

 

 

__________________________                                            ______            __________________

Pam Parmakian, Clerk                                                              Dana Faris, Principal Assessor