Minutes 04/06/2011

Board of Assessment Appeals

Minutes of the April 6, 2011 Regular Meeting of the Board of Assessment Appeals

The meeting opened at 3:00 pm with all members of the board in attendance. The assessor was also present for
most of the meeting.

The board members began by meeting individually with taxpayers.

Dennis Fallon met with Dennis Hannon of Hannon Enterprises on his personal property appeal.

Will Fiske met with Barbara Dolinsky on her motor vehicle appeal, and immediately afterward heard the appeal of Winthrop and Marlene Wadsworth concerning declassification of land formerly classified as farm land on their property at 16 Sachems Trail.  Mark Wigmore met with Robert Bonetti on his appeal of the valuation of his classified farm land on East Weatogue Street.

Two of the scheduled appellants did not appear, and following these four hearings, the board met as a whole to hear the remaining appeals.

The board heard the appeal of David Richman, appearing as the manager of Darlar, LLC on the assessment of 730 Hopmeadow Street. The assessor explained the nature of the assessment increase and Mr. Wigmore reviewed the requirements for annual filing of income and expense reports for commercial property.

David Burr appeared on behalf of Arbur Holdings, LLC and West Street Storage, LLC. (There had been no change in assessment in Arbur Holdings’ property at 123 West Street between the October 1, 2009 grand list and the October 1, 2010 grand list.)

William Guffert appealed the increase in assessment on his property at 11 and 15 Herman Drive, and explained his current situation with respect to property rental issues and the recession.

Mr. Dempsey appealed the assessment of 4 Greenwich Circle, and explained that he sought a reduction in
assessment of about 7.5% to about 288,000, for the purpose of making the assessment more equitable.

Jennifer Petron, the new owner of 55 Blue Ridge Drive, appealed that assessment and provided the board with a list of comparisons.

Robert Caroll appeared for the appeal of the assessment of his property at 62 West Mountain Road and discussed
the work done on the property, the changes in assessment, the nature of his land, and the valuation per square foot compared to several other nearby properties.

Jay and Mandy Cassano appeared to be heard on their property at 5 Hedgehog Lane. They sought an adjustment in the assessment now that the property has been included within the flood plain. A review of the property record card led to learning that the former barn or stable had been removed two to three years ago.

Mark Wigmore made and Will Fiske seconded a motion to reduce the assessment of 5 Hedgehog Lane by removing the barn. The motion passed unanimously.

Nathan Brown, new co-owner of 11 Crestview Road appeared and discussed his property, including among other things, difficulty with the lot drainage and water in the basement. Those are expected to be corrected.

Jeffrey Osborne, owner of 31 Tootin’ Hill Road, brought in comparisons and questioned the relative assessment of his two bedroom cape. It is assessed at 248,660 and he believes it should be assessed at about 206,000.

Byron Shcoenholzer appeared and discussed his property at 20 Meadow Crossing, particularly the actual age and
the condition of the tennis court and in ground pool, as well as what had been listed as finished basement.

Mark Wigmore made and Dennis Fallon seconded a motion to correct the assessment of 20 Meadow Crossing by
correcting the age and condition of the outbuildings and by reclassifying the finished basement as semi-finished
basement, and it passed 3-0.

Mary Graikoski, owner of 25 Lincoln Lane, was the last appellant to be heard. She presented assessments of
comparable homes that had sold in 2006 and 2007 and commented upon her property’s value.

The board then took action on some of the appeals that had been heard on April 4 and April 6.

Mark Wigmore made and Dennis Fallon seconded a motion to remove the plus 10% adjustment on the lot value of 11 Crestview Drive (reducing the lot value from $132,000 to $120,000) and the motion passed unanimously.

Will Fiske made and Dennis Fallon seconded a motion to reduce the base market value of 11 and 15 Herman Drive by 5%, and the board approved it unanimously.

Dennis Fallon made and Mark Wigmore seconded a motion to make no change in the personal property assessment of Hannon Enterprises, and it was adopted unanimously.

Mark Wigmore made and Dennis Fallon seconded a motion to make no change in the assessment of 123 West
Street, 123R West Street and 730 Hopmeadow Street. The motion passed 3-0.

After some discussion concerning the requirements of the farm land program, Will Fiske made and Dennis Fallon
seconded a motion to reduce the surplus acreage value of 16 Sachems Trail by 20%. The board’s consent was
unanimous.

Will Fiske made and Dennis Fallon seconded a motion to reduce the value of Barbara Dolinsky’s 2001 Ford Focus by $500. The motion was approved 3-0.

There was some discussion of the Cobtail Way appeals, for which decisions will be considered at a later meeting.
The meeting adjourned at 6:25 pm.

Respectfully Submitted,
David M. Gardner, Assessor (Clerk)

Attachment: List of appellants, assessments, and appellant’s estimate of value