A SPECIAL MEETING OF THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS

SITTING AS THE APPEALS BOARD FOR THE NON-AD VALOREM ASSESSMENTS

DECEMBER 3, 1991

The Lake County Board of County Commissioners met in special session on Tuesday, December 3, 1991, at 2:00 p.m., in the Board of County Commissioner's Meeting Room, Lake County Courthouse, Tavares, Florida. Commissioners present at the meeting were: Michael J. Bakich, Chairman; C. W. "Chick" Gregg; Donald B. Bailey, Richard Swartz; and Catherine Hanson. Others present were: Annette Star Lustgarten, County Attorney; Ed Havill, Property Appraiser; and Marlene S. Foran, Deputy Clerk.

COUNTY ATTORNEY

Ms. Annette Star Lustgarten, County Attorney, reviewed Resolution 1991-113, which adopted the Non-Ad Valorem Assessment Rate Schedule and the Non-Ad Valorem Assessment Roll for the Lake County Municipal Service Taxing Unit for Fire Protection.

Ms. Lustgarten stated that the Board would be sitting as the Appeals Board for the Non-Ad Valorem Assessments.

PETITIONS

Petition No. 1991-3 John C. Iliff

Mr. Ed Havill, Property Appraiser, informed the Board that the applicant is appealing the assessment on his swimming pool and will receive an automatic exemption.

On a motion by Commr. Bailey, seconded by Commr. Hanson and carried unanimously, the Board approved to grant the appeal.

Petition No. 1991-7 Ernest E. and Opal I. Auton

Mr. Ernest E. Auton, the applicant, appeared before the Board and presented pictures of a barn which had been partially destroyed by fire four years ago. He stated that the barn is used occasionally to house a tractor.

On a motion by Commr. Swartz, seconded by Commr. Gregg and carried unanimously, the Board upheld the assessment as recommended.





Petition No. 1991-8 Nancy A. Penn

Mrs. Nancy A. Penn, the applicant, appeared before the Board and stated that her property, located in a rural subdivision, was platted in 1926 into twenty-five (25) foot lots and is being taxed on each twenty (25) foot lot. She stated that the lots are combined to make one lot, and would join her resident property across the street if the street were not there.

Ms. Annette Star Lustgarten, County Attorney, stated that the Non-Ad Valorem Rate Schedule does clearly address the assessment to vacant, platted lots and does not distinguish between a buildable lot or a non-buildable lot.

On a motion by Commr. Swartz, seconded by Commr. Gregg and carried unanimously, the Board upheld the assessment as recommended.

Petition No. 1991-6 August Y. Mottlau

Mr. Ed Havill, Property Appraiser, informed the Board that the applicant is appealing the assessment on his swimming pool and will receive an automatic exemption.

On a motion by Commr. Gregg, seconded by Commr. Hanson and carried unanimously, the Board approved to grant the appeal.

Petition No. 1991-12 Ronald D. Farley

Mr. Ronald D. Farley, the applicant, appeared before the Board and stated that his lot is 75' wide by 103' deep; however, the legal description lists it as four separate lots.

On a motion by Commr. Gregg, seconded by Commr. Bailey and carried unanimously, the Board upheld the assessment as recommended.

Petition No. 1991-37 Leura D. Hertzfeld

The applicant was present in the audience to answer questions regarding this request.

Mr. Ed Havill, Property Appraiser, informed the Board that the assessment on the applicant's seawall and boat dock has been resolved.

On a motion by Commr. Bailey, seconded by Commr. Hanson and carried unanimously, the Board granted the appeal.

Petition No. 1991-59 John W. West

Mr. John W. West, the applicant, appeared before the Board and stated that his assessment is on a seawall, boat dock, screened room, two utility buildings and carport.

Mr. West addressed issues involving the Fire Protection Tax referendum and fire protection services in Lake County.

Commr. Gregg stated that the seawall, boat dock, screened room and carport will be waived, at which time, Mr. Havill clarified that they will be waived assuming the application is correct.

On a motion by Commr. Gregg, seconded by Commr. Swartz and carried unanimously, the Board upheld the assessment as recommended on the utility buildings.

Petition No. 1991-13 thru Petition No. 1991-33 Green Thumb Garden Center Corporation

Mr. and Mrs. Leonard Phillips, the applicants, appeared before the Board and stated that the petitions in question are twenty-five (25) foot unbuildable lots.

On a motion by Commr. Swartz, seconded by Commr. Gregg and carried unanimously, the Board upheld the assessments as recommended.

RECESS & REASSEMBLY

At 2:55 p.m., the Chairman announced that the Board would recess and reconvene at 3:00 p.m.

Petition No. 1991-47 Lake County Boys Ranch Foundation, Inc.

Mr. Ed Havill, Property Appraiser, informed the Board that the Lake County Boys Ranch Foundation is a non-profit tax exempt organization which is being assessed on a residential building, utility building, barn and a commercial classification.

Discussion occurred regarding the square footage of the buildings; at which time, Mr. Havill stated that his office would make an on-site evaluation of the buildings, remeasure, and determine the proper classification for each building.

Mr. Tom Manning, representing the Lake County Boys Ranch Foundation, Inc., appeared before the Board and stated that there are two (2) residences and one office on the property.

On a motion by Commr. Swartz, seconded by Commr. Bailey and carried, the board upheld the assessment as recommended; requested the Property Appraiser to reevaluate the property based on the square footage; and make an adjustment that is consistent with the statutory requirement, if there is another land use designation which is satisfactory to the State statutory requirement.

Commr. Bakich was not present for the discussion or vote.

Petition No. 1991-34 The Florida Easter Seal Society, Inc.

Mr. Jesse A. Shumen, Director of Camp Challenge, appeared before the Board and stated that this property consists of three (3) residences, one being a small trailer. Mr. Shumen stated that this assessment will create an unexpected financial hardship on Camp Challenge.

Mr. Ed Havill, Property Appraiser, stated that his office would make an on-site evaluation of the buildings, and determine the proper classification for each building.

On a motion by Commr. Swartz, seconded by Commr. Bailey and carried unanimously, the Board upheld the assessment as recommended; and requested the Property Appraiser to reevaluate the property based on the square footage and land use codes, to determine if there is another designation which would result in a fair evaluation.

Mr. Havill stated that his office will make an on-site evaluation and, if any corrections are due, the Tax Collector will correct the tax bill or issue a refund for the appropriate amount, if the tax bill has already been paid. Mr. Havill stated that a written response will be sent to the applicant after a reevaluation has been completed.

Petition No. 1991-35 Josephine Senatore

No one present wished to discuss this request.

On a motion by Commr. Gregg, seconded by Commr. Hanson and carried unanimously, the Board upheld the assessment as recommended.

Petition No. 1991-38 Kevin and Lucy Torman

Mr. Kevin Torman, the applicant, appeared before the Board and stated that he has 212 small lots, which had agricultural classifications until 1990 but, at this time, they are not bearing citrus. He stated that he purchased the property in May of 1990 and is in the process of preparing the property for planting citrus trees.

On a motion by Commr. Gregg, seconded by Commr. Bailey and carried unanimously, the Board upheld the assessment as recommended.

Petition No. 1991-39 Church of God, Lady Lake

Mr. Ed Havill, Property Appraiser, informed the Board that this is a tax exempt organization with a miscellaneous tax on 620 square feet of fencing on the church property.

The Reverend Hubert Bevill appeared before the Board to address this issue. Reverend Bevill stated that his church performs a service for the community and questioned the appropriateness of taxing churches.

Discussion occurred regarding the taxing of not-for-profit organizations, religious institutions, etc. and the feasibility of addressing this issue in the referendum.

On a motion by Commr. Swartz, seconded by Commr. Hanson and carried unanimously, the Board upheld the assessment as recommended.

Petition No. 1991-40 William D. Miller

No one present wished to discuss this request.

Mr. Ed Havill, Property Appraiser, informed the Board that this request was corrected prior to the meeting.

On a motion by Commr. Bailey, seconded by Commr. Gregg and carried unanimously, the Board upheld the assessment as recommended as corrected.



Petition No. 1991-41 Dennis Samuel Alsobrook

Mr. Dennis Olsobrook, the applicant, appeared before the Board and stated that the two (2) lots in question are not vacant lots but are lots contiguous to his residence.

Mr. Ed Havill, Property Appraiser, stated that this issue will be resolved in the Property Appraiser's office.

On a motion by Commr. Hanson, seconded by Commr. Swartz and carried unanimously, the Board directed the Property Appraiser to handle this request administratively.

Petition No. 1991-46 Ruth J. Bowman, as personal representative for the Estate of Beryle L. Jefferis, Deceased

Mr. Charles G. Bowman appeared before the Board on behalf of Ms. Ruth J. Bowman, representative for the Estate of Beryle L. Jefferis, and stated that the lots in question are twenty-five (25) foot unbuildable lots, which have been converted to six (6) buildable parcels.

On a motion by Commr. Bailey, seconded by Commr. Hanson and carried unanimously, the Board upheld the assessment as recommended.

Petition No. 1991-42 Bobby Lee and Frances Harris

Petition No. 1991-43 David A. and Marie W. Elliott

Petition No. 1991-44 Eleanor R. Burke

On a motion by Commr. Gregg, seconded by Commr. Swartz and carried unanimously, the Board upheld the assessments as recommended on Petition Nos. 1991-42, 1991-43, and 1991-44.

Petition No. 1991-48 Kathy McDonald, Interim Executive Director, Lake County Department of Health and General Services

Ms. Kathy McDonald, representing the County, appeared before the Board and addressed the issue of the methodology of paying the fire protection tax from the fire budget to the fire budget, which will result in administrative paperwork. Ms. McDonald asked that the Board waive the tax on the County owned and/or operated fire stations.

On a motion by Commr. Swartz, seconded by Commr. Bailey and carried unanimously, the Board upheld the assessment as recommended.

Petition No. 1991-49 Troy S. Bronson for Bronson Farms, Inc.

No one present wished to discuss this request.

On a motion by Commr. Gregg, seconded by Commr. Hanson and carried unanimously, the Board upheld the assessment as recommended.

Petition No. 1991-51 thru Petition No. 1991-56 Ruth A. Ray

Ms. Ruth A. Ray, the applicant, appeared before the Board and expressed her objection to the $.10 per acre tax on wetlands and agricultural land for fire service and addressed the various issues relating to each petition.

On a motion by Commr. Swartz, seconded by Commr. Hanson and carried unanimously, the Board upheld the assessments as recommended.

Petition No. 1991-61 East Lake County Chamber of Commerce

Commr. Hanson informed the Board that she is abstaining from voting on this issue due to a conflict of interest, with Form 8B being filed pursuant to Section 112.3143, Florida Statutes.

Ms. Judy Paul, representing the East Lake County Chamber of Commerce, appeared before the Board and stated that the Chamber of Commerce serves the community, and they solicit funds from the community, but are being charged the commercial tax rate with no differentiation made for a non-profit organization such as the Chamber of Commerce.

On a motion by Commr. Gregg, seconded by Commr. Bailey and carried, the Board upheld the assessment as recommended.

Commr. Hanson abstained from voting on this issue.

Petition No. 1991-57 Rita Henry

Ms. Rita Henry, the applicant, appeared before the Board to answer questions regarding this request. She stated that they are receiving no services for the taxes that they are paying.

On a motion by Commr. Gregg, seconded by Commr. Hanson and carried unanimously, the Board upheld the assessment as recommended.

Petition No. 1991-58 Kennie LaDon Steverson

Mr. Kennie Steverson, the applicant, was present in the audience to answer questions regarding this request.

On a motion by Commr. Bailey, seconded by Commr. Hanson and carried unanimously, the Board upheld the assessment as recommended.

Petition No. 1991-50 G. Richard Dickersin, Trustee for Adams Street Trust

No one present wished to discuss this request.

On a motion by Commr. Gregg, seconded by Commr. Hanson and carried unanimously, the Board upheld the assessment as recommended.

Petition No. 1991-60 Joan Slade

No one present wished to discuss this request.

On a motion by Commr. Swartz, seconded by Commr. Gregg and carried unanimously, the Board upheld the assessment as recommended.

There being no further business to be brought to the attention of the board, the meeting adjourned at 4:15 p.m.





______________________________

Michael J. Bakich, Chairman



ATTEST:







______________________________

JAMES C. WATKINS, CLERK



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