Board of Assessors

Minutes of the Board of Assessors Meeting of April 21, 2011 A meeting of the Board of Assessors was held on Thursday, April 21, 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 Dominic D’Antoni Assessing Staff Present: Angelo Marino Drew Lemay Doug Dame Cheryl Walley Minutes of the Meeting: Minutes of the meeting of March 3, March 17 and April 7, 2011 were approved. Abatement Requests Presented: A complete listing of all abatements approved/denied is available in Assessor’s Office. Deputy Assessor Drew Lemay supplied data to the Board members which explained a settlement agreed on by the taxpayer for the property located at 115 Daniel Webster Highway and explained why the packet of data was not included in the Board’s packet to review prior to the meeting. Board member Mr. Kevin Moriarty advised he could not make an informed decision without being provided the data beforehand and having time to thoroughly review it, therefore he will need to recuse himself from this vote. The other two Board members were satisfied with the facts presented to approve this settlement. Appointments: 8:30 – Chinese Bible Church of Greater Nashua Representatives Regarding 2011 Charitable Exemption Request for Property Located at 45 Pine Hill Road Chair Marylou Blaisdell welcomed the four representatives from the Chinese Bible Church of Greater Nashua (CBCGN), Mr. Yichong Yang, Mr. Arnold Chang, Mr. Kang Wang and Ms. Grace Zhen. Ms. Blaisdell advised the representatives that the Board members have read all the material submitted and understand they are seeking a property tax exemption and said she also understands that the building was not being used for religious purposes on April 1, 2011, as it was at the time being renovated. Mr. Chang said that it was being used for community meetings and various kinds of religious purposes throughout the year. Ms. Blaisdell questioned how there could be meetings held in the building legally if there was no Certificate of Occupancy (CO) issued by the City of Nashua. She asked where the congregation meets and has services. Mr. Chang advised that their congregation meets at their other location on Main Street in Nashua and this location is scheduled to have services late April, 2011. He advised the Certificate of Occupancy was just issued yesterday, April 20, 2011. Mr. Chang then referred to a PowerPoint presentation the Church had prepared which bulleted the key points he wanted to make, one of which they have had no written response to their letters delivered to the Assessing Department dated September 12, 2010 and April 5, 2011. The Board was advised the response to the September 12, 2010 letter was verbal. Upon delivery of that letter Deputy Assessor, Robert Gagne, spoke at length with Mr. Wang and explained the property must be owned, used and occupied on April 1st of the year of application. Because the property was purchased July 13, 2010 this property was not owned by the CBCGN on April 1, 2010 and therefore would not qualify for a religious property tax exemption for 2010. Mr. Wang explained to Mr. Gagne that it is necessary for one of the female representatives of the Church to understand this and Mr. Gagne suggested they return and he will meet with both of them at that time. In preparation, Mr. Gagne printed out the RSA’s from the State of New Hampshire’s website which relate to this matter to help explain at the next meeting. The representatives of CBCGN never returned that year. 1 of 5 The representatives agreed there was a verbal response but said they were expecting a written reply also. Board member, Mr. Kevin Moriarty, asked Chief Assessor Angelo Marino what is the policy of replying to such letters. Mr. Moriarty expressed his opinion that the CBCGN should have received a written response to their letter in addition to the verbal reply. Mr. Marino said he will look into this. Mr. Dominic D’Antoni asked Chief Assessor Angelo Marino about a recent Supreme Court case which had similar qualities. Mr. Marino replied there has actually been several properties for which a religious exemption was denied because the property was not being used for religious purposes. The Supreme Court case in which the BTLA’s decision was reversed had to do with two properties in Nashua owned by the Roman Catholic Church, St. Francis Xavier and St. Casimirs Church. The Supreme Court held that storing religious artifacts “does not rise to the level of using or occupying the space for “religious purposes” and since they reversed the BTLA’s approval of the exemption, the exemption was ultimately denied. Other churches that have been denied because the use on April 1st was not for religious purposes include Grace Fellowship Church, Nashua Assembly of God, and the Heritage Baptist Church. Mr. Marino told the Church representatives there will also be a need to get an Assembly permit from the Nashua Fire Department. Mr. Chang advised their general contractor has not informed them of this. They asked if the Assembly permit is obtained as part of the process to obtain a Certificate of Occupancy. Chair Blaisdell told them she is not certain and they should check with the Building Department. The Board was then shown pictures taken on March 30, 2011 by Commercial Appraiser Doug Dame. The pictures showed the entire property being renovated and under construction. Mr. D’Antoni asked if the water was turned on at that time and Mr. Dame replied that he was not sure but he had seen port-a-potties outside the building. Mr. Chang said the water was turned on at that time. Ms. Blaisdell said that in 2010 the property would not qualify for an exemption as it was not owned by the CBCGN on April 1, 2010 and for the 2011 tax year the main congregation could not have been meeting there on April 1, 2011 because as of that date it was under construction and there was no Certificate of Occupancy that had been issued. She explained that the Board’s denial of an exemption could be appealed to the State of NH either to the Board of Tax and Land Appeals or to New Hampshire Superior Court. She explained that they may arrive at a different decision, but based on all information this Board has and being consistent with the Board’s passed decisions for very similar situations, the property does not qualify to receive a religious property tax exemption for 2011. Mr. Chang said RSA 72:23 explains what is exempt and that the property needs to be owned, used and occupied but it does not mention that you need a CO in order to qualify so we were not really clear on what it meant to be occupied. He said he also did not read anything about April 1st in any RSA. Mr. Marino handed Mr. Chang RSA 74:1 which says “The selectmen of each town shall annually make a list of all the polls and shall take an inventory of all the estate liable to be taxed in such town as of April 1.” It was explained to the CBCGN representatives that the April 1st date is the date determined by State law, by which each property must be assessed and it is the snapshot of any property on that date which determines the qualification for an exemption. Mr. Yang told the Board the property was owned, used and occupied on April 1, 2011 but they did not have a CO. Ms. Blaisdell said it was under construction as of April 1, 2011 so it was not being used for religious purposes and again she has to refer to RSA 72:23. Mr. Moriarty said they are a city board and they have no authority to override state law which says they must be using the property for religious purposes. 2 of 5 Mr. D’Antoni said if they were using it for religious purposes then it was illegally being used, since the property was clearly under construction and there had been no CO issued by the City. Mr. D’Antoni asked Mr. Marino if there is any situation where an exemption was approved because the organization was not aware of the criteria. Mr. Marino replied no there has never been, because ignorance of the law is no excuse. MOTION BY Kevin Moriarty to deny the religious property tax exemption application for property located at 45 Pine Hill Road as it does not meet the criteria set forth in RSA 72:23 to receive a religious property tax exemption as of April 1, 2011. SECONDED BY Dominic D’Antoni. MOTION CARRIED unanimously. Staff Items: The Board discussed the charitable property tax exemption request received for 2011 for the properties owned by Harbor Homes as of April 1, 2011. These properties are 59-73 Factory St. which is entirely being used as a residence for homeless veterans; 123 Palm St., 114 Palm St. 76 Kinsley St., 4 Hamilton St. and 17 Orange St. which are all being used 100% as a residence for low income people. The Board noted that as of April 1, 2011 these properties were all being used for the purposes which this organization was created and made the following motion: MOTION BY Kevin Moriarty to approve the charitable property tax exemption submitted by Harbor Homes for 59-73 Factory St., 123 Palm St., 114 Palm St. 76 Kinsley St., 4 Hamilton St. and 17 Orange St. as each of these properties on April 1, 2011 met the criteria set by RSA 72:23 to receive a charitable property tax exemption. SECONDED BY Marylou Blaisdell. MOTION CARRIED unanimously. The Board then discussed the property owned by Harbor Homes located at 189 Kinsley St. for which a charitable property tax exemption is requested for 2011. The BTLA Form A-9 says that 7% of the property is being used for commercial space and Ms. Blaisdell questioned that the commercial space is only 7% saying she has been in there and the business seems to occupy more than that. She also inquired as to how much of the parking is allotted to the business. Deputy Assessor Drew Lemay advised he will look into this and have this information for the Board at their next scheduled meeting. MOTION BY Marylou Blaisdell to table the approval or denial of this exemption for the property located at 189 Kinsley St. until the information requested is provided. SECONDED BY Dominic D’Antoni. MOTION CARRIED unanimously. Regarding the A-9 received for 2011 by The Plus Company for their property located at 19 Chestnut St. the Board noted that the property was owned by the organization on April1, 2011 and is being used for the purpose this organization was created. MOTION BY Marylou Blaisdell to approve the request of The Plus Company for a property tax exemption for tax year 2011, as the property located at 19 Chestnut Street meets the criteria set forth in RSA 72:23 to receive a charitable property tax exemption as of April 1, 2011. SECONDED BY Dominic D’Antoni MOTION CARRIED unanimously. 3 of 5 Regarding the A-9 received for 2011 by Grace Fellowship of Nashua Inc. for Map 78/Lot 86, which is being used as a parking lot for the congregation. The Board noted that the property was being owned by the organization and being used for religious purposes on April 1, 2011. MOTION BY Marylou Blaisdell to approve the request of Grace Fellowship of Nashua, Inc. for a property tax exemption for tax year 2011, as the property known as Map 78/Lot 86 meets the criteria set forth in RSA 72:23 to receive a religious property tax exemption as of April 1, 2011. SECONDED BY Dominic D’Antoni MOTION CARRIED unanimously. Regarding the A-9 received for 2011 by Lamprey Health Care Inc. for property located at 22 Prospect St. the Board noted the property was under construction as of April 1, 2011 MOTION BY Marylou Blaisdell to deny the charitable property tax exemption application for property located at 22 Prospect Street as it does not meet the criteria in RSA 72:23 to receive a charitable property tax exemption as of April 1, 2011. SECONDED BY Kevin Moriarty. MOTION CARRIED Regarding the A-9 received for 2011 by Dartmouth-Hitchcock Clinic for properties located at 21 East Hollis St., 589 West Hollis St. and 591 West Hollis St. the Board noted their decision had been made in previous years that these properties do not meet the criteria set forth in RSA 72:23 and therefore the Board is unable to approve a charitable property tax exemption request for 2011. MOTION BY Marylou Blaisdell to deny the charitable property tax exemption application for the property located at 21 East Hollis Street, 589 West Hollis Street and 591 West Hollis Street as these properties do not meet the criteria in RSA 72:23 to receive a charitable property tax exemption as of April 1, 2011. SECONDED BY Kevin Moriarty. MOTION CARRIED unanimously. The Board then discussed the A-9 received for 2011 by Southern New Hampshire Medical Center for the properties being used by Foundation Medical Partners, identified as Map 30/Lot 11, Units 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 202, 301, 303; Map 30/Lot 64 (partial); Map 31/Lot 49; Map 31/Lot 49, Units 210 (partial), 321 and 431; Map 30/Lot 65 (partial), Map I/Lot 42 (partial); Map 75/Lot 74 Unit B. The Board noted their decision had been made in previous years that these properties do not meet the criteria set forth in RSA 72:23 and therefore the Board is unable to approve a charitable property tax exemption request for 2011. MOTION BY Marylou Blaisdell to deny the charitable property tax exemption application for the properties owned by Southern NH Medical Center being used by Foundation Medical Partners (as listed above) as these do not meet the criteria in RSA 72:23 to receive a charitable property tax exemption as of April 1, 2011. SECONDED BY Kevin Moriarty. MOTION CARRIED unanimously. Regarding the A-9 received for 2011 by Young Men’s Christian Association of Greater Nashua for property located at 24 Stadium Dr., the Board noted the property was under construction as of April 1, 2011. 4 of 5 MOTION BY Marylou Blaisdell to deny the charitable property tax exemption application for property located at 24 Stadium Drive (Account #51654, Map E/Lot 2224-24) as it does not meet the criteria in RSA 72:23 to receive a charitable property tax exemption as of April 1, 2011. SECONDED BY Kevin Moriarty. MOTION CARRIED. Regarding the late filing of the BTLA Form A-9 received from the Nashua Hanmoum Korean Church the Board advised they have read the letter of explanation received from Pastor Chung Tea-Hyun. The Pastor asks the Board to excuse the late filing of this form as it was fully due to his “mistake” and “laziness”. The Board was told this Pastor was sent three emails from the Assessing Department to the email address provided by the Pastor. When no reply was received from the Pastor, a letter was sent to confirm this email address and also to advise if this form is not received by the due date of April 15, 2011 the religouis exemption may be removed and the 2011 property taxes based on the full assessment of this property. The Board decided that the reason given for the late filing would not fall under “accident, mistake or misfortune” as the reason was well within the Pastor’s control. After careful consideration, the Board made the following motion: MOTION BY Marylou Blaisdell to deny the religious property tax exemption application for property located at 44 Cadogan Way due to untimely filing of the BTLA Form A-9. SECONDED BY Kevin Moriarty. MOTION CARRIED unanimously. Old Business: The Board discussed 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 both present. These two members said they have been given no information that would indicate this organization meets the criteria to receive a charitable property tax exemption on its property. After careful consideration, the Board made the following motion: MOTION BY Marylou Blaisdell to deny the charitable property tax exemption application for property located at 120 Daniel Webster Highway as it does not meet the criteria in RSA 72:23 to receive a charitable property tax exemption as of April 1, 2011. SECONDED BY Dominic D’Antoni. MOTION CARRIED. MOTION BY Marylou Blaisdell to adjourn at 9:25 AM. SECONDED BY Kevin Moriarty. MOTION CARRIED unanimously. Transcribed by Cheryl Walley Department Coordinator 5 of 5