APPROVED 1/10/2011
Minutes of Meeting
Town of Monson
Board of Assessors
Thursday December 16, 2010
Members Present: Assessors Craig Benoit and Allan Curtis
Members Absent: Chairman Russell Bressette Jr.
Attendees: Dr. Jeffrey Allard
Principal Assessor: Ann P. Murphy
Open the Meeting: Craig motioned to open the meeting at 6:04pm and Allan seconded. All were in favor.
OLD BUSINESS:
NEW BUSINESS:
The Board met with tax payer, Dr. Jeffrey Allard, in regards to his application for Statutory Exemption. He told the Board that the organization, Give Them Sanctuary, Inc. was started about 2 to 3 years ago. He has contributed most of the money to the organization. They are trying to do good things through the organization. He purchased two properties, one of which was donated by his company, Manomednet, at the urging of the IRS. He stated that the IRS indicated that land had to be owned by the charity and that they also indicated that, though he has lofty goals, he qualifies as a conservation charity. So far, he has been working on cleaning up the two parcels of land, he has posted both parcels against trespassing and stated that he possibly may have plans for the parcel on Boston Rd,
that is zoned commercial, to become a dog shelter. They want to help domestic animals, abused animals and abused persons in need of sanctuary. The parcel on Stafford Road could be used by biologists in the future for conservation purposes. He stated that he has read the statue for charitable exemptions and he feels that he meets the qualifications and would like to be considered exempt. He said that he posted the land so that he could clean up the land, but that he did allow the boy scouts to camp overnight on his property on Stafford Rd. He also stated that he had a little campsite set up with a generator, but that he hadn’t kept a close enough eye on it and it was trashed by someone and the generator was stolen. He stated that he is a very small charity that is just starting out and that it is a burden for the charity to have almost $3,000 a year in real estate taxes. He said that if the Board does approve his exempt status, he will
probably purchase more parcels in town for the organization. He told the Board that if there is anything that we need him to do in order to qualify, to just let him know and he will be willing to do whatever he has to do to comply. He had to do things for the IRS in order to qualify under their statutes.
Allan asked Dr.Allard how they receive donations, does he do any speaking engagements anywhere promoting his organization. Dr. Allard said that he has not participated in public speaking engagements in regards to the organization. Allan also asked how the organization has fulfilled its objective. Dr. Allard stated that someone contacted them recently regarding an abandoned dog that needed medical attention. Give Them Sanctuary, Inc. covered the veterinarians’ bill of $3,000. Allan asked if that was documented or if it was listed on their website. Dr. Allard said that they had not mentioned it on the website.
Craig told Dr. Allard that the responsibility of the Board is that every resident is treated the same and that we are consistent in our assessments. Dr. Allard said that he understood that and he asked if the board has ever turned down an exemption for a charitable organization and Craig told him yes.
Dr Allard concluded that Norcross Sanctuary is a role model for his organization, but that Give Them Sanctuary is still a very small organization, it is just starting out. He stated that being qualified as being tax exempt would greatly help his organization. He stated that he will wait on the Boards decision. He asked if his application was timely filed, he was informed that it was timely and duly filed for FY2011. Dr. Allard then left the meeting.
The board reviewed the exemption application and supporting documentation and also reviewed the Department of Revenues guidelines on charitable organizations. The Board voted and denied the exemption application. The decision was unanimous.
ADJOURN: At 7:10pm, a motion was made by Craig and seconded by Allan to adjourn. The motion passed unanimously.
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