06-04-2001 - Laserfiche WebLink

Commission Minutes--June 4, 2001 2291 Assessor, was present in the audience and said he was not prepared to respond today because ~ he did not know prior to this that Mrs. Brothers was dissatisfied with the valuation on her home. He requested more time to review the assessment with his staff and Mrs. Brothers. MOTION, passed Mr. Wieland moved and Mr. Wagner seconded to refer the assessment of Mrs. Donald Brothers back to the Fargo City Assessment Department for further evaluation and recommendation. On roll call vote, the motion carried unanimously. There were no other appeals in the City of Fargo. In the City of West Fargo, an appeal was presented by Michael Dalsin, of Dalsin Development Company, and Melissa Drinkwine, Property Manager, who were present at today's meeting. The location in question is a 50' x 140' gravel parking lot at 119 West Main Avenue (Lot 4, Block 2, Sukut Estates), and it is being used at no charge for parking by patrons of the Frontier Bar. Mr. Dalsin indicated there is no room for future development because the property is only 50' wide. Also, the lot adjoins buildings on both the west and east sides, and parking for potential customers or employees may not meet the city's parking requirements. A letter presented today from Dalsin Development Company indicated the property had been assessed at $8,800 and was raised to $17,600 for the current year's assessment. He believes the assessment should not exceed $10,000. -- Wanda Wilcox, West Fargo City Assessor, was present and said she researched land values and made some adjustments in this subdivision this year. She determined the highest and best use of this land is for a parking lot, and it is used for that purpose for tenants of Mr. Dalsin's adjacent building to the west of this property. She said the true and full value for last year was $11,800, instead of$8,800, as reported eariiertoday. Mrs. Wilcox presented some comparable properties which sold for the value of the land itself, because condemned homes on each of these properties had to be removed by the purchaser. Mr. Wieland questioned the square footage ofthe lot because of an easement on Main Avenue which may reduce the value of the property somewhat if they do not have the use of that land. Mr. Klein offered to review this property with Mr. Dalsin and Mrs. Wilcox in the next two weeks. MOTION, passed Mr. Wieland moved and Mr. Wagner seconded to refer the assessment of Dalsin Development Company to the Director of Equalization and the West Fargo City Assessor for further evaluation on the square footage usage and come back with a recommendation to the county board of equalization. On roll call vote, the motion carried unanimously. There were no other appeals in the City of West Fargo. -. Mr. Klein said the City of Harwood recently reassessed that part of Harwood lying west of Interstate 29, and there were numerous protests at the local equalization meeting. After making some individual changes, Mr. Klein said the City of Harwood lowered the entire City by 10%. Mr. Klein advised the City of Harwood that a 10% reduction may not be allowed, and that he