APPROVED 3/21/2011
Minutes of Meeting
Town of Monson
Board of Assessors
Monday February 7, 2011
Members Present: Assessors Chairman Russell Bressette Jr., Allan Curtis, Craig Benoit
Members Absent:
Attendees: Roy Bishop, Joseph Dasco, and Gerald Skeean
Principal Assessor: Ann P. Murphy
Open the Meeting: The meeting was called to order at 4:15pm.
Accept the Minutes: A motion was made by Craig and seconded by Allan to accept the minutes of January 10, 2011. The motion passed unanimously.
OLD BUSINESS:
NEW BUSINESS:
Roy Bishop, of Bishop & Associates, represents the Board of Assessors as a consultant. He is involved in our interim year adjustments and our revaluation year, and represents the Town of Monson Assessors Office with the Department of Revenue. He attended the meeting to be available to answer any questions regarding the values and how they were set.
The Board met with Mr. Joseph Dasco in regards to his 4 abatement applications. Mr. Dasco told the members of the Board that he feels that his properties are overvalued. He explained the costs and problems that he has encountered while trying to develop the properties that he owns on Bradway Rd. Mr. Bishop explained that the one sale that took place in the area has impacted the value of properties around it. He explained what is required by the Department of Revenue in order for a town to receive certification and how the sales that have taken place within the town impact values. Mr. Dasco told us the sale in question took place in 2008, it was not on the market and the person who purchased the properties wanted this particular lot. As part of the sale agreement, Mr. Dasco agreed to put
in a 1500ft driveway and had the lot perked. He also had to get a drainage easement for all of these properties as was required by the planning board. Mr. Dasco stated that the other large lot will needs about $50,000 worth of work in order to sell it. He also said that the other lots all have steep slopes which call for long and curving driveways and expensive site work. He feels that these lots should be similar in value to the other lots in the neighborhood. Russell Bressette informed Mr. Dasco that the board did go out to view these properties recently and that they felt that the view does impact the value of the land. Mr. Dasco asked if the board had walked the land and was told that they did not. He offered to walk the land with the board so that they could see that, yes even though there is a view impact, there are also negative things that impact the land such as the slopes, run-off, and type of driveway that has to be installed.
Mr. Dasco also felt that there are other places in town that have much nicer views, such as Hovey Rd., that have not seen the increase in land values that his properties have. The board requested that Mr. Dasco supply them with documentation regarding the cost of preparing the lots. Mr. Dasco agreed to send this information in to the board for their review. Mr. Dasco thanked the board for their time and for serving the Town of Monson. He then left the meeting.
The Board met with Mr. Gerald Skeean in regards to his 6 abatement applications. Mr. Skeean told the board that he purchased the property in 2004. It took about a year to get a subdivision approved. He showed us old plans with a right of way on it, but was told that he could not use the right of way because, even though it had the frontage, it did not have enough width all the way back. He tried to make a land swap with the abutter but the abutter was not interested. He showed the board another plan that was drawn up which showed the dramatic slopes that they have had to contend with, on one of the properties he had to remove 7,000 cubic feet of earth due to the slope. There is also a double easement on the properties, electrical and natural gas. There are footprint restrictions
due to the gas line. He also stated the lot configurations have made things difficult. He also explained the problems with installing driveways due to the steepness of the hills. He would have to remove more than 3000 cubic feet and that would require him to get approval from planning board. Mr. Skeean stated that these obstacles have created a hardship for him in regards to selling these properties. He has been marketing them for 5 years; he hasn’t had one offer on the land. He has had 3 separate brokers and he keeps lowering the lots but he still hasn’t had any offers. Roy asked if he had copies of the listings and Mr. Skeean said that he will send them into the board this week. The board asked for documentation on the cost to develop the lot. Mr. Skeean said he would provide that to the board this week. Mr. Skeean thanked the board for their time and left the meeting.
The Board reviewed, voted on 11 Real Estate Abatements. One was denied and 10 were approved in the amount of $7,087.07
The Board voted and approved the following Motor Vehicle Abatements:
- 2010 Abatements in the amount of $351.46
- 2009 Abatements in the amount of $163.33
The Board reviewed, voted and approved the following Real Estate/CPA exemptions:
- 3 Elderly 41C Exemptions - $2,335.11
- 4 Veteran 22 Exemptions - $824.00
The Board reviewed and signed a Chapter 61 application for property on Lower Hampden Rd.
The Board was updated on the map changes for this past year. They have been entered into the database and will be sent to Tighe and Bond this week.
The Board was updated on the position that is open on the board for the upcoming elections.
The Board was updated on miscellaneous items.
The next meeting was scheduled for Monday March 21, 2011 at 4:15pm
ADJOURN: At 6:00pm, a motion was made by Allan and seconded by Craig to adjourn. The motion passed unanimously.
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