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07-21-1949 and 07-22-1949 Equalization Board Meeting 141 EQUALIZATION BOARD MEETINGS MIAMI SHORTS VILLAGE COUNCIL July 21 and 22, 1949 The Miami Shores Village Council sitting as an Equalization Board not on the nights of July 21 and 22, 1949, in the Village Hall.' The following members of the Council were present on the night of July 21: George A. Fria, Mayor M. E. Reynolds William E. Carpenter Michael J. Franco Absent= Roy Mackenzie The first case discussed was that of Mrs. Lee Thorndike of 180 N. W. 87th St., who owns Lots 7, 8, 9 and 10.. Block 4, River Bay Park Addition. It was Mrs. Thorndike's opinion that these lots were assessed too high, at an amount greater than they can be sold for, since there is neither water nor electricity accessible to them. The Village Manager stated that the 1949 assessment on these lots had been reduced from $1875 to $1500 each, to equalize all property in that location. No further action was token by the Council. Mrs. Thorndike requested a letter stating what the 1949 assessment would be. Mr. Vincent Burke of /w2 N. E. 106th St., Lot 5, Block 202, Dunnings Miami Shores Extension No. 2, was present to protest the method of assessment. It was Mr. Burke's contention that it was not equitable to assess all houses, regard- less of size or type of construction by 50¢ a cubic foot. After a discussion of assessing with regard to building costs, Mr. Reynolds moved that Mr. Burke's petition for reassessment be denied. Motion was seconded by Mr. Carpenter and passed by three affirmative votes. Mr. Franco declined to vote with the statement that he did not think he was qualified to do so. Mr. C. W. Matheson of 534 N. E. 92nd St., Lots 2 and 3, Block 58, thought his assessment in the total amount of $11,895, was too high in comparison with a similar home on his street. It was determined that the house used for comparison 142 143 -2- was built in 1939, on which depreciation was allowed at 2% for each year through 1947, - whereas, Mr. Matheson#o house was built in 1948. Mr. Reynolds moved that request for reduction be denied. Motion was seconded by Mr. Carpenter and passed by three affirmative votes. Mr. Franco did not cast a vote. Mr. George Rogers of 285 N. E. 105th St., owning the WJ16, *17, and WJ18, Block 13, Pasadena Park, was present to request a reassessment on his land and house. After a recomputation of the land assessment based on the front footage Of 57J ft. on N. E. 105th St., Mr. Carpenter moved that this value be reduced from $3200 to $1380. Motion was seconded by Mr. Reynolds and passed with three' affirma- tive votes, as Mr. Franco did not vote. By a similar motion made by Mr. Carpenter seconded -by Mr. Reynolds and passed by three affirmative votes, the valuation on Mr. Rogers' house was reduced from $7579 to $6607, because of an error in the original figure. Mr. Francis Rearick of 306 N. E. 102nd St., Lots 11 and 12, Block 38, appeared before the Board to ascertain if his house had been correctly cubed. It was his belief that a large screened porch was given full assessment. Mayor Prix stated we will have the Building Inspector recube this house and review it again at the next meeting on the following night. Mr. Harry Horton of 360 N. E. 105th St., Lots 3 and lr, Block 117, was present to protest method of assessment as not being equitable in all cases. No action was taken. Mr. C. F. Wheeler's problem concerned the land he owns adjacent to the dog track. Mr. Wheeler stated that he could not improve this land because he didn't believe single family dwellings, for which it is presently zoned,, would sell. He further stated that he either needed some tax relief or a change in the zoning. Discussion followed concerning the desirability of apartment buildings in that area. It was suggested that Mr. Wheeler make application for rezoning. 144 145 —3— Mr. Lee Lincoln was present to protest the assessment on the eight lots he owns in Bay Lure Subdivision. He explained that these lots were practically worthless at the present time because the Water Company would not furnish water to that area dud the cost to install it for an individual property owner was prohibitive. It was pointed out that the original subdivider should have assumed responsibility for furnishing water to that section. Also, that the difficulty with the Water Department was just a temporary issue. Mr. Lincoln asked for temporary tax relief. As reducing assessments would entail the entire 62 lots in the subdivision, Mr. Carpenter moved that this request be denied. Motion was seconded by Mr. Reynolds and passed unanimously. Mayor Prix stated the Village Manager will write to the Water Department and to Wolff & Feuer in an effort to get water to this subdivision. Meeting adjourned at 1Os05 P.M. All Councilmen were present at the Egg&Uzatigg.Board meeting of July 22. Mr. Lee Lincoln was again present with Mr. Albert Green of 776 H. E. 93rd St., to discuss the assessments on the lots in Bay Lure. Mr. Green explained how this subdivision, in which he held an interest, had been developed originally by Mr. Moody. At the time his firm purchased the lots, they were valued at about $1800 on inside lots with the corner and bay front lots a little higher. It appeared to be a profitable investment until it was later discovered that no utilities were available. This has made the sale of the property very slow and some of the lots that were sold have been returned due to the fact that the purchasers could not build because of lack of water supply. It was Mr. Green's belief that the assessed values were not fair values considering that these lots were inaccessible to water. The Council pointed out that we have very little control over extensions of public utilities and that there was other property in the Shores which had not as yet been supplied with water. Mr. Carpenter moved request for reassessment 146 147 -4- be denied. Motion was seconded by Mr. Franco and passed unanimously. Mr. Paul Kinney appeared before the Board to protest the assessment value on the Shores Villas Apartments. It was Mr. Kinneyts opinion that 50¢ per cubic foot was too high for apartment buildings as they could be built at a lower cost per cubic foot than residences. Mr. Kinney stated that for an equitable basis of cubing, 350 per cubic foot was more in line. After consideration of this request, Mr. Franco moved that Mr. Kinney's petition be denied. Motion was seconded by Mr. Carpenter and passed on a 4/1 vote, with Mr. Reynolds dissenting. Mr. John Roth of 910 N. E. 91st Ter. appeared in protest of his land assessment. After a recomputation of the front footage, Mr. Reynolds moved the assessed valuation be reduced from $1880 to $1350. Motion was seconded by Mr. Franco and ,manimously passed. Mr. Rearick was again present to review the Building Inspectorts figures on a reeube of his house. These figures indicated a higher cubical content than that taken from the original building permit. For any further questions Mr. Rearick was requested to contact the Building Inspector, The Final case brought before the Board was that of Mrs. Cora M. Fleshman of 83 N. E. 100th St., concerning a 50 ft. lot, Lot 23, Block 10. Mrs. Fleshman stated the taxes were too high in view of the fact that the lot was of no value for building purposes. Upon motion made by Mr. Franco, seconded by Mr. Carpenter and unanimously carried, this petition was denied and the Village Manager instructed to answer the request. Meeting adjourned at 11:40 P.M. G Village Manager and Clerk APPROVED: (Acting) Mayor 148