TOWN OF DUNBARTON
BOARD OF ASSESSORS
MINUTES OF MEETING
October 21, 2008
Present: Timothy Terragni, Chairman
Mary LaValley
Bryan Clark
Janice VandeBogart, Recording Secretary
Meeting was called to order at 7:00 pm.
Scott Marsh from Municipal Resources, Inc. was also present.
Ralph Fellbaum, 59 Ray Road, H2-04-02: Mr. Fellbaum was present to participate in the review of his property with the board and Scott Marsh from MRI.
Scott Marsh stated that he went to Mr. Fellbaum’s property in September and conducted an interior inspection of the property with Mr. Fellbaum. He found the outside measurements of the property to be accurate so he did not re-measure the exterior, however, he did measure and inspect the interior of the home, mainly the area on the second floor, a finished loft with a staircase. Mr. Marsh showed pictures to the board. Mr. Marsh stated that the property was coded a ranch. It had no second floor so therefore it was coded a ranch. Also, the original plans on file with the town when the building permit was obtained were marked custom built ranch. It was noted that Mr. Fellbaum brought copies of other property cards in Dunbarton that were similar to his and they were coded a cape. Mr. Marsh reviewed these property cards and felt there may be some discrepancies in the data base, stating that some were called ranches and some were called capes. However, after his inspection of the Fellbaum property Mr. Marsh felt that this home should be called a contemporary rather than a ranch or a cape.
Mr. Fellbaum disagreed saying that a contemporary has intersecting roof lines. His property does not so therefore he did not think it should be classified as a contemporary.
Mr. Marsh stated that due to the floor plan this property was more contemporary. He used a property on 52 Birchview Drive as a comparable, stating that Vision called this property a contemporary. Mr. Marsh stated that he inspected the property in September and prepared a memo for the board. In October he prepared another memo giving the board a list of “what ifs” and highlighted his recommendation which classified the property as a contemporary, grade 5, with a condition rating of “good” which resulted in an assessment of $435,700. It was noted that the property is now assessed at $427,500. It was also noted that the assessment of $427,500 was with the code “ranch” and with no basement and no second floor.
Square footage was discussed. Mr. Fellbaum inquired as to why a home with more square footage was valued lower than a home with less square footage. Economies of scale were discussed.
Mr. Fellbaum was asked if there was living space over the garage and he stated there was not. Also, there is no attic over the second story finished room.
Scott Marsh explained how the properties are graded. The grade is based on the quality of the building. Mr. Fellbaum’s property was graded a “5”. When Mr. Fellbaum was asked how he would rate the condition he stated that is was average saying it was not that great or outstanding. However, he did agree that it was too new to be average.
Bryan Clark suggested that the board could drop the grade to a 4 and change it to a cape. That would bring the assessment in at $431,000.
Mr. Fellbaum asked about the figures on the garage, why did the number change. Mr. Marsh explained how square footage is calculated. Mr. Fellbaum also asked why the value of ranch is more than a cape. Tim Terragni explained that at the time of the revaluation, ranches were selling for more than capes or other type of houses. More people were buying houses with rooms all on one floor, therefore the ranches were valued higher than any other type of building.
Mary LaValley agreed that Mr. Fellbaum’s property should be classified as a contemporary, (hybrid), not a cape or a ranch. Mr. Marsh stated that he went to inspect the property to make sure it was assessed properly regardless of what it was called.
Mr. Fellbaum questioned the grade, 4 vs 5. Mr. Marsh stated that grade 4 is standard for most homes in town. An average plus 10 was called a grade 4 and an average plus 20 was called a grade 5. Mr. Fellbaum stated that his property was graded a 4 originally, when it was called a cape.
After much discussion, Tim Terragni stated that the board would like to discuss this further before they make a decision. He stated that they would make a decision tonight and would get back in touch with Mr. Fellbaum. Mr. Marsh stated that he would be glad to provide Mr. Fellbaum with a new printout of his property after the board makes their decision. Tim Terragni reassured Mr. Fellbaum that this matter would be taken care of tonight. Everyone concurred that they had all the information they needed to make a decision.
Mr. Fellbaum left the meeting at 7:40 pm.
Bryan Clark stated that the board has to keep this consistent across the board. After listening to all the information provided he recommended that the board bring the grade down to “4”.
After more discussion, the motion was made by Tim Terragni to accept the recommendation of Scott Marsh to code the property as a “Contemporary”, grade “5”, with a condition rating of “good” which would establish an assessment of $435,700 for the year 2008. The motion was seconded by Mary LaValley. The vote was as follows: Tim Terragni, Aye; Mary LaValley, Aye; Bryan Clark, Nay. The motion carried.
Further Business: Scott Marsh stated that after looking at the sales for the year, he came up with a preliminary ratio of 102% for the year 2008. He also reminded the board that the town is due for a complete revaluation in 2010. He discussed some options with the board and also stated that it would be wise to put the work out to bid now to see how much money the town will have to put aside for the process.
Items to sign:
The minutes of September 16, 2008 were approved and signed.
The following Intent to Cut Timber forms were approved and signed:
Kara Realty, H2-02-06
Barry Lussier, B5-02-23
Tacha Jeppson & Lynn Lee, B3-02-13
Dennis & Dana Ordway, C7-03-01
Invoice: An invoice in the amount of $865.58 from Municipal Services Inc. for services rendered was approved for payment.
Meeting adjourned at 8:30pm.
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Timothy Terragni, Chairman
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Mary LaValley
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Bryan Clark Dunbarton Board of Assessors
Recorded by: Janice VandeBogart,
Recording Secretary
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