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HomeMy Public PortalAbout04/08/98 Board of Appeals CCM71 MEDINA CITY BOARD OF REVIEW OF APRIL 8, 1998 The Board of Review met on, 1998 at 7:00 p.m. in the City Hall Chambers. Mayor John Ferris presided. Members present: Ferris, Zietlow, Hamilton, and (Thies left at 7:45 p.m.) Members absent: Johnson. Also present: City Clerk -Treasurer Paul Robinson, Rolf Erickson & Tom Carol City Assessors, Larry Miller Hennepin County, and City Assessor. 1. Medina Mini Storage The owners of Medina Mini Storage asked to have their valuation lowered. They said that because of the standards for construction for the city of Medina, they were not able to make sufficient profit on the first section of their development to offset the amount property taxes and other fixed costs. They said that because their cash flow off the property was not sufficient to cover their current expenses, they would like a temporary reduction in the valuation of their property. There was some discussion about the current value of the property. The current values was $181,00; $42,000 for the land, $140,000 for the building. The city council asked Rolf Erickson if this seemed reasonable. Rolf said he doesn't see a lot of sales of this type. He said that they have had some sales of this type in Greenfield and Corcoran, however, this particular construction was more substantial than the ones in those cities. John Ferris asked about the vacancy rate. The owner said that 34 out of 46 units were rented. Rolf Erickson said if the city council wanted to do something for this property it would be possible to reduce the value for one year while they work to increase their cash flow. There was some discussion about the amount of cash flow, how much they charge per unit. Rolf Erickson said that based on the valuation and their current cash flow the value is very close to what it should be. Phil Zietlow said that during the past year they were 75% occupied. The city could justify a reduction in valuation based on 75% of the current value for one year. Moved by Phil Zietlow, seconded by Ann Thies, to reduce the valuation to $147,000 fora one year period. Motion passed unanimously. 2. Anthony Sundin, 1525 Hackamore Road Mr. Sundin said that his market value went from $118,797 in 1997 to $129,000 in 1998. There was some discussion about his property. Medina Board of Review Meeting Minutes April 8th, 1998 72 Rolf Erickson said that $129,000 was an extremely conservative value for his property. He said that typically homes of this type in this area go for up to $150,000-$165,000 if not more. There was some additional discussion. Anthony Sundin asked if he could have information on similar sales in the city. John Ferris said the city clerk would provide him with examples. Rolf Erickson said he would recommend no changes on this property. John Ferris said the valuation looked fair. Phil Zietlow said comparative numbers for other homes showed that this property was fairly valued if not under valued. No action was taken on this property. 3. Don Voss, 2805 Pioneer Trail Loren Leuer spoke on behalf of Donald Voss. He said that since 1994 Mr. Voss' property value has gone up $62,000. He said that Mr. Voss was going to be 89 years old this year. His property values have been increasing $15,000-$20,000 per year. Leur said Mr Voss was living on a fixed income and was not able to afford these large increases in property value. There was some discussion about whether or not there was a circuit breaker for senior citizens. There was also some discussion about the 20% property rebate which should help offset some of the increases in the property values. Phil Zietlow said that last year's increase was only 4.2%, and the previous year was 10%. Rolf Erickson said last year they took this property off of the agricultural designation and then put it back on once they saw that it was still an agricultural use. Erickson said a large portion of this property was in the agricultural property class. The council members agreed that there should be some sort of break based on age, but that the board of review could not address that issue. It could only address the value of the property in relationship to the market. The board agreed that the value of the property was well within the range for other properties in the area. No action was taken on this property. 4. Lyle Voqeler— 1222 Hamel Road, 11-118-23 31 0001 Mr. Vogeler said that his property value went from $85,000 to $92,000. Rolf Erickson said that this was a fairly unique situation. There were only two houses that sold under $100,000 last year. Medina Board of Review Meeting Minutes April 8th, 1998 73 Mr. Vogeler said his house was a former schoolhouse, and wasn't as insulated as well as other homes, and that he has had to pay rather large increases in utility fees in order to maintain the home. John Hamilton asked how much he has been paying in property taxes. Lyle said that actually his property taxes went down $100. He paid $1,200 in 1997 and $1,100 in 1998. There was some discussion about the size of his property and about the site and about other similar properties in the city. Rolf Erickson showed a number of comparable properties that had sold in the area. Phil Zietlow said that 8% seemed like a higher increase than others. Rolf Erickson said that the city council can set the rate wherever they'd like, however, the rate of increase isn't necessarily attributed to the area as a whole, it is done on a property by property basis. No action was taken on this property. 5. Dave Weir — 1760 Meadowwoods Trail Mr. Weir said that his valuation increased significantly from 1997 to 1998 and it increased another $21,000 this year. He said that there have not been a lot of sales in his neighborhood and he wanted to know why his house was valued more than other properties in the area. He said that he paid $542,000 for the home and the home was valued at $510,000. He asked how the valuation of his property was determined. Council member Phil Zietlow said that normally sales and the market are what drive the value of properties. There was some discussion about the use of a formula for determining value. Rolf Erickson the city assessor, said that no such formula exists. The city assessor looks at all the facts, such as the size, number of bedrooms, bathrooms, curb appeal but in the end it is a judgment based on what the value of the property is to buyers. There was some discussion about the history of assessing and how it used to be that neighborhoods were done on a percentage basis, but now properties were looked on an individual basis. Phil Zietlow said that it looks like the valuation was right on the money. It was within 90% of the sale amount. No action was taken on this property. 6. George Layeaux — 4605 Wichita Trail Mr. Layeaux said the value of his property has been increasing over the years and so has the water level around his house. This has caused a lot of problems in his neighborhood which should have decreased the value of the properties in this area. Medina Board of Review Meeting Minutes April 8th, 1998 74 There was some discussion about the water problems in his area and what the city is trying to do to correct those problems. There was also some discussion about the reduced property class for paraplegics and as well for veterans. He requested that this be looked into since he didn't believe that he was getting a significant reduction based on those factors. Rolf Erickson said that the tax rate break for homesteaded paraplegics homes was on the first $35,000 of value. The class rate was .45% instead of 1 %, which netted a savings on this property of around $160 per year. John Ferris said that given his home and the water situation, he asked the city assessor if we had the city had the right value on this property. The assessor looked at what other homes on the block had recently sold. Rolf Erickson said that recently a home sold off the lake. That home was valued at $176,000 but sold at $159,000. Based on this, he said the properties on that block may need a reduction in value of around $20,000. Moved by John Ferris, seconded by Phil Zietlow, to reduce the properties with water problems or issues on that block by $20, 000, and when the problem is corrected the property values should be increased to reflect that correction. Motion passed unanimously. The city council also directed the city assessor to check whether or not the paraplegic and veterans homestead classifications were being prescribed as directed by law. 7. Mike Homeberger — 2982 Ardmore Mr. Homeberger said his property had been reduced in value last year by the city council because of structural problems. He said that the value of his property increase from '98 to '99 by 12% and asked if it could be reduced to the previous value. Rolf Erickson said that they had gone through and increased most of the property values in Independence Beach and that they must have overlooked this particular property. Moved by John Ferris, seconded by John Hamilton, to keep the property value at $81,000. Motion passed unanimously. 8. Mike and Connie McLaughlin of 2887 Lakeshore Avenue John Ferris read a letter into the record from Mike and Connie McLaughlin of 2887 Lakeshore Avenue. They would have liked to have their property value continued at its lower valuation. Several years ago there was an oil spill on their property that contaminated the soil and a portion of that contamination remains under the foundation. They have no idea what impact this remaining oil could would on the sale of their home. At this point they believe their home's reputation has decreased their property value, yet their property value has gone up more than 15%. After some discussion it was agreed that their property value would probably be still considered diminished based on this fuel oil spill and the city assessor believed that it would probably be worth moving it back to the $217,000 valuation that it had previously. He said he Medina Board of Review Meeting Minutes April 8th, 1998 75 would move this property into a manual classification which would be checked annually until the stigma of this fuel oil spill has no more impact on the market value of the property. Moved by John Ferris, seconded by John Hamilton, to move the property value to $217,000. Motion passed unanimously. 8. Adjournment Moved Phil Zietlow, seconded John Hamilton, to adjourn the board of review at 9:15 p.m. Motion passed unanimously. ohn B. Ferris, Mayor Atte Paul Robinson, City Clerk -Treasurer Medina Board of Review Meeting Minutes April 8th, 1998 76 (THIS PAGE LEFT BLANK INTENTIONALLY) Medina Board of Review Meeting Minutes April 8th, 1998