TOWN OF MONTEREY
Board of Assessors
435 Main Rd., P.O. Box 448
Monterey MA 01245
Meeting Minutes, October 21, 2006
The meeting was called to order by Stan Ross; Bob Gautheir, Bob Lazzarini, Don Clauson and Linda Hamil were present. Chief Ray Tryon attended for part of the meeting.
The Board continued its discussion of the land value modifiers and how to correct their application.
Don Clauson reported on his morning-long meetings with Lee Marcella, the Assistant Assessor at Otis. He reported on how Mr. Marcella and Otis deal with the land vaue modifiers. For the most part they treat them very much as the Monterey BOA is proposing to do. They reserve the use of the modifiers for extreme cases of impairment and don’t respond to minor impairments of topography, wetness or access. There were some notable exceptions. Otis relies on the property owner requesting the modification and proving his case. For modifications because of topography that might mean consulting with engineers and producing a Topograhic map of the property. The majority of the Monterey Board felt that that attitude was not appropriate for Monterey. Don Clauson
related that Mr. Marcella believes that the revision of our Land Value Modifiers is entirely appropriate, but that the timing is terrible. He strongly recommended that we wait until the new tax year before implementing the changes. The Board agreed that it would be wise to wait and instructed Don Clauson to go back and reverse most of the changes he had just entered on the property cards. The only new entries and corrections that are to remain are those relating to water frontage on the lakes and on navigable waterways. The Board agreed that it needed to develop a detailed sweeping revision of the use of land value modifiers. This revision should take the form of a written document that contained a complete description of appropriate use of them and standards (examples) to guide the assistant assessor in their application. It was also agreed the target date for the implementation of the new policies would be the start of the new tax
year, and that during the 2 1/2 months before the new tax year, we would refine our thinking, consult with more experts, invite public comment, publish detailed articles in the Monterey News and develop the complete document.
Bob Lazzarini reported on his consultation with Town Counsel about access to landlocked property. Mr. Sculley said that he knew of no law protecting a man’s right to enter his landlocked property. If that is correct, the implication is that landlocked property is impaired and the use of an access modifier would be appropriate.
Chief Tryon expanded on his earlier conversation with Bob Lazzarini. He noted that the Fire Dept’s two tanker trucks carry 4000 gallons of water and that is enough water for 12 to 16 minutes of continuous application by two 1 3/4 inch hoses. The Monterey Fire Department’s standard operating procedure is to call for assistance from other Fire Companies as soon as we get the call. This procedure ensures that more trucks carrying more water will be at the scene and available. Chief Tryon also pointed out that his trucks carry thousands of feet of hose and that his men could easily deal with a fire 400 feet from the trucks. Consequently topography and immediate access may not be as important for fire protection as the Board originally thought.
The meeting was adjourned at 11:50 AM.
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