Board of Assessors

Minutes of the Board of Assessors Meeting of April 7, 2011 A meeting of the Board of Assessors was held on Thursday, April 7, 2011, in Room 208, 2nd floor of City Hall. The meeting was called to order at 8:15 AM by Chair Marylou Blaisdell. Members Present: Marylou Blaisdell Kevin Moriarty Assessing Staff Present: Angelo Marino Drew Lemay Gary Turgiss Greg Turgiss Doug Dame Cheryl Walley Minutes of the Meeting: Minutes of the meeting held on February 3, 2011 were approved. Minutes of the meeting of March 3, 2011 were tabled for approval. Appointments: 8:30 – Mr. Robert Mack, Manager of the City Welfare Department regarding tax deferral request for property located at 959 West Hollis Street. Chair Marylou Blaisdell welcomed Mr. Mack and clarified how his department is involved with the trust which owns the property. Mr. Mack explained he is the overseer of the trust and they try to make sure the property is up to livable standards and the bills are being paid. He told the Board that previously the property had an elderly exemption but the person receiving this passed away. The Board was told that no exemption application was received by the Assessor’s Office before the deadline in 2010, therefore the taxes must be paid and if approved for this deferral, the interest will be accrued at 5% instead of 18% after going to lien. MOTION BY Marylou Blaisdell to go into a nonpublic session to discuss personal financial matters of the applicant. SECONDED BY Kevin Moriarty. MOTION CARRIED unanimously. MOTION BY Marylou Blaisdell to come out of nonpublic session. SECONDED BY Kevin Moriarty. MOTION CARRIED unanimously. MOTION BY Marylou Blaisdell to seal the minutes of the nonpublic session. SECONDED BY Kevin Moriarty. MOTION CARRIED unanimously. MOTION BY Kevin Moriarty to approve the tax deferral for 2010 taxes owed for the property located at 959 West Hollis Street. 1 of 3 SECONDED BY Marylou Blaisdell. MOTION CARRIED unanimously. The Board discussed two other applications for a 2010 tax deferral for properties which had received this for prior years. One property located at 13 Manchester Street and the other located at 15 Meadowbrook Drive. It was noted there has been no significant changes in the owner’s financial situations and therefore it is not necessary that the Board discuss financial matters for these applicants this year, since their hardship still continues and the applicants would meet the criteria to receive a tax deferral. MOTION BY Kevin Moriarty to approve the two tax deferral applications for 2010 taxes owed for the property located at 13 Manchester Street and 15 Meadowbrook Drive. SECONDED BY Marylou Blaisdell. MOTION CARRIED unanimously. Abatement Requests Presented: A complete listing of all abatements approved/denied is available in Assessor’s Office Commercial Appraiser Doug Dame presented the abatements that he had coming before the Board and then he went over the specifics of his inspection he had done on the property located at 7 Amherst Street for which the Assessing Department received an A-9 form or an application for a religious exemption. He advised there are no ongoing church services performed at this location however Mr. Bowdre, who resides in the building, told him that he does not hold regular services but instead he “street counsels” by talking to people on the street about the word of God. Board member Mr. Kevin Moriarty asked if the property has a Certificate of Occupancy. Mr. Dame advised that it is currently listed as a 2 unit property and the upstairs is uninhabitable. He is not aware that there have been any permits issued by the City and does not believe the Fire Department has inspected it either for a Permit of Assembly. Ms. Blaisdell said that if it does not have a Certificate of Occupancy for a church then it is not a church and there cannot be any size group of people in there worshiping, and therefore cannot qualify for a religious exemption. MOTION BY Marylou Blaisdell to deny the religious property tax exemption application for property located at 7 Amherst Street as it does not meet the criteria in RSA 72:23 to receive a religious property tax exemption as of April 1, 2011. SECONDED BY Kevin Moriarty. MOTION CARRIED unanimously. The Board then discussed another application for a religious exemption for 2011 for the property located at 43 Chandler St. This property was recently purchased by St. Mark Coptic Orthodox Church. The church is located at 41 Chandler Street and the Pastor of the Church is living in this property at 43 Chandler Street. The Board members noted that this use of the property is a permitted use to receive the religious exemption and therefore the property meets the criteria to receive the religious property tax exemption. The Board then made the following motion: MOTION BY Marylou Blaisdell to approve the religious property tax exemption application for property located at 43 Chandler Street as it meets the criteria in RSA 72:23 to receive a religious property tax exemption as of April 1, 2011. SECONDED BY Kevin Moriarty. MOTION CARRIED unanimously. 2 of 3 Regarding a charitable property tax exemption request for the property located at 128 Amherst Street, the Board was told the property is being used 100% for transitional housing. The owner is Nashua Pastoral Care. The Board made the following motion: MOTION BY Kevin Moriarty to approve the charitable property tax exemption application for property located at 128 Amherst Street as it meets the criteria in RSA 72:23 to receive a charitable property tax exemption as of April 1, 2011. SECONDED BY Marylou Blaisdell. MOTION CARRIED unanimously. Staff Items: None Old Business: The Board tabled any discussion or decision on the 2011 charitable exemption application submitted by the Nashua Lodge of the Elks for the property located at 120 Daniel Webster Hwy. The two Board members present when the Board last discussed this property with the representatives of the Lodge are not both present. The discussion will ensue and possibly a decision made at the next meeting when Board members Mr. Dominic D’Antoni and Ms. Marylou Blaisdell are both present. MOTION BY Marylou Blaisdell to adjourn at 9:00 AM. SECONDED BY Kevin Moriarty. MOTION CARRIED unanimously. Transcribed by Cheryl Walley Department Coordinator 3 of 3