Traverse City Record-Eagle

East Bay

November 12, 2009

Holiday ski hill's assessed value dips

Operators drop bid for property tax exemption

BY BRIAN McGILLIVARY

TRAVERSE CITY -- Mt. Holiday Inc. will receive about $24,000 in rebated taxes for its ski hill after its officials dropped a property tax exemption claim.

East Bay Township's board this week agreed to settle with the nonprofit ski hill's operators and cut the property's disputed 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2008 assessed taxable value by about 35 percent.

The settlement came about after Mt. Holiday was surprised by a 40 percent reduction in its 2009 assessment and East Bay-based Centre ICE lost a tax appeal that sought a similar charitable organization tax exemption.

"All I know is the 2009 assessment shows up in the mail and there was this big reduction," said David Kipley, attorney and a member of the board for Mt. Holiday. "We said is there some way we can work this thing out, and we did, in pretty short order."

The change will trim about $7,000 from the $18,000 Mt. Holiday was assessed for its 2008 tax bill.

Laurie Spencer, Grand Traverse County's equalization director, said she met with Mt. Holiday to review the assessment. Spencer, who in 2006 began reassessing all of East Bay Township, said she was not aware of a conservation easement on the 13.5-acre property.

"That obviously severely restricts what they can do with that property and its value," Spencer said.

The settlement put an end to a long-running tax appeal that followed in the wake of the hotly contested Centre ICE tax fight.

Mt. Holiday appealed its taxable status and assessment to the Michigan Tax Tribunal for 2005 taxes shortly after Involved Citizens Enterprises, another nonprofit, filed a similar claim for its ice rink. Vocal Centre ICE supporters tried to pressure township and county officials to restore the exemption, but Mt. Holiday took a more subdued approach.

"They were very good to work with," Spencer said.

Kipley, township attorney Tom Grier, and the tax tribunal agreed to put the Mt. Holiday case on hold until Centre ICE was decided. The tax tribunal eventually ruled against Centre ICE, which appealed and lost again in October. Centre ICE said it may appeal the most recent decision to the Michigan Supreme Court.

Kipley said Mt. Holiday officials could have held out to see what happens with Centre ICE, but the board decided it could work with the lower assessment.

"It's a good result for both sides and it's one less thing to have a contest over," said Grier, who represented East Bay on both tax cases.

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