City Council Minutes 04-25-2006 SpecialMINUTES
SPECIAL MEETING - MONTICELLO CITY COUNCIL
BOARD OF REVIEW
Tuesday, April 25, 2006 - 7 p.m.
Members Present Glen Posusta, Tom Perrault and Brian Stumpf.
Members Absent: Clint Herbst and Wayne Mayer
1. Call to Order:
Acting Mayor Glen Posusta called the meeting to order at 7 p.m. Also present at the meeting
were Greg Kramber, Wright County Assessor, Tony Rasmussen, Senior Appraiser and Lori
Thingvold, the assessor assigned to Monticello.
Greg Kramber provided a brief overview of the activity that is occurring in Wright County and
indicated that the entire county including Monticello has seen substantial growth not only in
new construction but also increased market values when analyzing sales that have occurred.
Lori Thingvold, assessor assigned to Monticello, summarized information relating to the 2006
assessment for the City and indicated there were 257 sales of residential parcels and that the
median sales ratio was 90%. The Department of Revenue requires sales ratios to be between
90% and 105%. Lori Thingvold noted that overall residential land and buildings were
increased by 5.4% throughout Monticello bringing the sales ratio up to 94.83%. Commercial
and industrial properties have had their values increased by 19.8%, with apartment complexes
increased by 16.93% to bring their sales ratios more in line with current market values. The
median sale price on residential property as of September 2005 was $190,000 compared to
$182,200 the previous year.
2. Board of Review:
Shawn Weinand, owner of several commercial and industrial parcels within the City of
Monticello appeared before the board to discuss the large valuation increases proposed on a
number of parcels. Mr. Weinand did not feel that some of the huge value increases were
warranted at this time, even though he understood that many of the increases proposed are
related to recent sales activity valuations. Mr. Weinand's concern is that not all parcels can be
considered to be equal in value with recent sales that have occurred and that the assessor needs
to take into consideration how quickly the properties will be absorbed by development in
establishing values.
Assessor, Greg Kramber noted that the valuations are based on current sales and zoning uses of
the property and that some parcels may see significant increases due to other factors such as
property classification changes, especially for parcels that previously were valued under
agricultural or green acre exemptions. Because Mr. Weinand had questions on numerous
parcels within the Monticello Industrial Park, the Ocello development and even outlots in the
Groveland Addition, the Board of Review suggested that the Wright County Assessor meet
with Mr. Weinand and review the individual sites within the next 20 days and the Board of
Review could reconvene to review a report on recommendations concerning any value
adjustments for these thirteen or so parcels.
AS A RESULT, MOTION WAS MADE BY BRIAN STUMPF AND SECONDED BY TOM
PERRAULT TO HAVE THE WRIGHT COUNTY ASSESSOR MEET WITH SHAWN
WEINAND AND REPORT BACK AT A SPECIAL MEETING TO BE HELD MAY 99 2006
AT 7 P.M. FOR THE PURPOSE OF RECONVENING THE BOARD OF REVIEW AT
THAT TIME. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.
Mark Olson of Olson Electric appeared before the board to question valuations placed on
parcels #155-500-113303 and 155-127-000010. Mr. Olson disputed the land value being
placed on the Olson Electric parcel and did not feel it was comparable to other properties in the
area because of the amount of fill material that would be needed to make the site more
buildable and because of the difficulty the parcel has for access.
Assessor Greg Kramber noted he has visited the site and noted that the property owner had
placed a "For Sale" sign on the property that indicated the asking price was three to four times
more than the value the assessor had placed on the property but also was suggesting that a
reduction be made in the land value from $651,400 to $521,300 to account for the lower
elevation of the property compared to surrounding areas and recognizing the access to the
property was more difficult than other parcels in the area.
MOTION WAS MADE BY GLEN POSUSTA AND SECONDED BY BRIAN STUMPF TO
REDUCE THE PROPERTY VALUE AS RECOMMENDED BY THE COUNTY ASSESSOR
FROM A TOTAL OF $884,500 TO $754,400. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.
Mr. Jay Morrell, owner of the parcel #155-500-142209 at 1219 State Highway 25 South, also
questioned the value of his property due to limited access the site has from Highway 25.
Assessor Greg Kramber noted that the property value had been reduced by $1 /sq. ft. to $7/sq. ft.
to account for access issues, but Mr. Morrell felt additional adjustments were still warranted.
MOTION WAS MADE BY BRIAN STUMPF AND SECONDED BY GLEN POSUSTA TO
ADJUST THE PROPERTY VALUE AN ADDITIONAL $1/SQ. FT. TO A TOTAL OF
$6/SQ. FT. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.
Assessor Greg Kramber reviewed with the board three additional parcels that their office has
reviewed since the original since assessment valuations were completed. The assessor is
recommending that adjustments be made as follows to their valuations.
155-172-00101.0 - Hunters Crossing, LLC
Home had water damage and it was recommended that the building value be reduced
from $215,600 to $107,800 bringing total value for the property to $177,800.
155-010-036100 - John Koppy
Classification of the property was changed from duplex to residential homestead and the
recommendation is to redistribute value to $76,700 allocated to commercial class and
$55,900 to the residential class.
155-053-001010 - West Cello Apartments/TCK Properties
Adjustment in market value was recommended from $2,575,600 to $2,500,000.
MOTION WAS MADE BY BRIAN STUMPF AND SECONDED BY TOM PERRAULT TO
ADJUST THE ABOVE THREE PARCELS PER RECOMMENDATION. MOTION
CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.
3. Adjourn:
GLEN POSUSTA MOVED TO RECESS THE BOARD OF REVIEW AT 8:50 P.M. WITH
TOM PERRAULT SECONDING THE MOTION. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.
The Board of Review will reconvene on Tuesday, May 9, 2006 at 7 p.m. to review
recommendations on Mr. Weinand's commercial property valuations.
Recording Secretary