Town of Otisfield
Heniger Park Reassessment Committee
WORKSHOP Meeting
Minutes 02/20/14
7:00pm
PRESENT: Hal Ferguson, Rick Micklon, Lenny Adler, Judy Hall, Craig Turner, Karen Turino,
Secretary – Tanya Taft (Absent - Anne Pastore, Kyle Jordan & Marianne Izzo-Morrin)
1. CALL TO ORDER: The meeting was called to order at 7:00 PM.
2. FLAG SALUTE: Audience and Board members saluted the flag.
3. SECRETARY’S REPORT:
A. Heniger Park Reassessment Committee Minutes from January 16, 2014. *Approved on: February 5, 2014 @ BOS Mtg.
4. WORKSHOP:
Public Submittals: Email from Ed McCarthy # 38 Heniger Park Road and a letter from Ruth Watson submitted into public Record.
Workshop Discussion: HF is asking all members to digest LA comments from last mtg. The Proposed March meeting is right around the corner so we need to solidify this. HF asked members to email any comments they have and he will incorporate it into an updated timeline
JH contacted Norway Savings Bank – Spoke with Holly Chase – The bank loan Dept. is very interested in giving loans. Stipulation: They do like the lease to be longer then the term of the loan. They currently have their legal committee looking at this example.
LA contacted TD bank in Oxford – The Bank Loan Dept. is not interested in doing this in Maine
He also contacted Key Bank & Androscoggin Bank, They both confirmed, it is possible, but is on a case to case basis, and only when lease is longer than the mortgage terms. So it is possible for 3 out of 4 banks to process this type of loan.
LA: 50 years ago, the then BOS tried to do what is best for Town, thinking this was the best solution. It didn’t benefit the Town People, just the residents of Heniger Park.
We have no appraisals and need to do our due diligence. Paper companies and trailer parks are (2) examples we can compare to. (Submitted into Public Record)
1) Trailer Parks: Oxford Pines is approx. $4,368.00 a year if you want to park your trailer in a park.
Town and Country in Norway, $3,757.00 with rules and regulations.
2) Paper companies: Paper Company T34, charges $2,000.00 a year.
Paper Company Lincoln Pit charges $2,000.00 a year. No electricity and No winter Road Plowing.
LA: We as BOS need to find “fair market value” for this area.
KT: We did get 2 real estate companies to get fair market value.
LA: The Fair Market Value that was provided was for selling the land, and we can’t sell it. In my opinion there is a difference. Lease value is not the same as assessed value. I am confident the Town Attorney can come up w/ a Fair Market Value for this land. Also as a reminder, a special Town meeting can be held if the information is not obtained by Town Meeting.
HF: Something needs to be done before March 11th as the town attorney will not be available for several weeks after that. When I contact Attorney in the morning, I will check to see when the board can meet with him. As a reminder it is the BOS that determines what happens when leases expire. As a caveat, whatever the BOS decide to do in July, they may or may not do the same for the following leases. As BOS they can have a potential for 37 different leases w/ different terms and different durations as what is decided is not binding on the following lease.
KT: I think there is a lot of confusion among the public on the lease amount and the tax amount. People are getting upset that the town isn’t getting the tax. We really need to clarify what’s what. HPR are paying fair value tax on the building, but not on the leased land.
HF: I will add property tax 1 and property tax 2 to the timeline so that people can see what they are paying on the building. I have also contacted the Sun Journal to get the correct information out there and was told that when we get closer to Town Meeting, it will be printed.
HF: Will contact Town Attorney and ask that Real Estate Legal Department get involved.
UNLEASED LOT:
HF suggests seeing what lot four can be leased for. The house is on stilts, we can go ahead and lease it out. When we determine a lease value we can lease it as a trial property.
RM: Suggests the town fix the land before trying to lease it out. Getting proper permits in place before leveling land is a must.
HF: We are ahead of schedule and always like to hear what people have to say, so I am going to open this up for Public Comments unless anyone disagrees? All committee members agreed.
PUBLIC COMMENTS:
PUBLIC: the trailer park prices make me think you are trying to attract year round residents. I am only up here 30 days out of the year and 10 are spent maintaining and doing upkeep.
RM: That’s your limitation on how much time you want to spend up here.
PUBLIC: The “then” BOS wanted this to be a seasonal operation. We don’t send our kids to the schools up here. We don’t have the amenities and we maintain the beach.
LA: It was never intended to have road maintenance and it was intended for summer time residents only.
PUBLIC: Who is coming up w/ Fair market value?
RM: Our Attorney has Real Estate Expertise.
PUBLIC: We looked into getting a loan and Norway Savings said at this time we don’t do loans on leased property.
PUBLIC: Pertaining to camp on the water, lot 4, cutting trees down and taking fill out? Was told by the PB this cannot be done.
RM: This can be done. BOS can ask Mike Morse to help clarify what can or can’t be done. Cutting trees is not the PB’s jurisdiction.
PUBLIC: If I knew 50 years ago, they didn’t want trailers, and a septic tank had to be put in, I wouldn’t have invested so much money, knowing where we are today.
PUBLIC: Do the Town people know that Bates College has been studying the water down there for 3 years and they come weekly during the Summer Season?
RM: Can’t say for sure, but guessing most do not know about Bates College.
PUBLIC: Most of us are hoping the BOS do something w/ Lot #4 so we can see what happens down there.
PUBLIC: None of us will be leaving our houses there for the Town, should the leases not be renewed.
HF: It may cost you more to have the building demolished than leaving them, but that is your decision.
PUBLIC: We have people and it will only cost us fuel to run the machine.
HF: Most people leasing have their own idea of what they want for a house so it may actually lease easier without your home. Just remember lease says to leave land maintained.
5. UPCOMING DATES:
A. Heniger Park Reassessment Committee Meeting, March 20, 2014 @ 7:00 PM.
B. Public Hearing – TBD, but looking at or around May 15, 2014
6. ADJOURNMENT: Meeting adjourned: 8:45 PM.
Tanya Taft, Secretary
Approved by: Hal Ferguson, Rick Micklon & Lenny Adler Approved on: March 5, 2014 @ BOS Mtg. |
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