County signs agreement for delinquent taxes

The Bourbon County Commissioners on Friday signed an agreement with a Fort Scott business that owes taxes on its property.

The agreement is between the Bourbon County Commissioners and NS Investments LLC, Crooners LLC and the City of Fort Scott regarding delinquent taxes due on property located at 113 S. Main St. in Fort Scott and the city's Neighborhood Revitalization Program.

"This is concerning three cases that are in litigation," Dan Meara, the attorney handling delinquent tax cases for the county. "Last year when I filed tax cases, one of these properties was owned by a corporation called NS Investments LLC. That's when the worksheet came in from Security First. In between then and the time that we filed, they opened up a new corporation called Crooners LLC and transferred the properties to them. But for some reason or other, they left NS Investments on this."

Later, Meara said the City of Fort Scott is included "as a matter of courtesy to the city."

The attorney who was retained by Crooners had asked for "a ton of paperwork. He could have taken up residence here in the courthouse," Meara said.

He said during the process, he noticed Crooners also had retained an appraiser and had negotiated an adjustment on the appraised valuation of the building for 2013.

"So I got a bright idea," Meara said. "I said why don't we resolve this by following the same process. This is a process that is set out in the statutes. I want to emphasize that Bourbon County is not engaging in any favoritism here. What this sets out is basically the process that any taxpayer has that has a complaint about the valuation of property for property tax purposes."

He said under the process, any taxpayer who has a complaint about the valuation of their property must first pay their taxes under protest.

"And then you go through that process. If you are not satisfied with the way it goes this level, you have the right to appeal to the county's court of tax appeals," Meara said. "Basically what we have agreed to here is to avoid lengthy litigation. And it would be lengthy, I'm sure, and the amount of time spent on this on both sides would be tremendous."

The agreement states the taxpayer, Crooners LLC and NS Investments, will pay the real property taxes due for 2008 through 2013 first, then the taxpayer will be entitled to a rebate through the city's Revitalization Program.

Crooners (NS Investments) has been granted a reduction in the valuation of the property for 2013. Under the agreement, they will pay the property taxes, interest, penalties and fees for 2011 and 2012 under protest.

The rebates total $8,654.38 for 2006; $8,383.88 for 2007; $8,781.77 for 2008; $8,930.29 for 2009 and $9,250.13 for 2010.

According to the county's website, the total taxes due on the property is $22,872.62 for 2008; $22,027.49 for 2009; $21,002.48 for 2010; $20,757.78 for 2011; and $17,846.21 for 2012.

The taxpayer and Fort Scott Mayor Cindy Bartelsmeyer already had signed the agreement.

Commission Chairman Allen Warren asked for clarification on why they were signing the agreement.

"A judicial tax foreclosure case is a lawsuit," Meara said. "Under the Kansas Code of Civil Procedure, whenever there is a lawsuit pending, each side has a right to what is called discovery. One of the first things that happened when we filed this was, the other these records having to do with the valuation of all the buildings up and down Main Street.'"

Meara said the attorney asked for records dating back at least five years. He said he took the request to the appraiser and learned that an appraiser's office staff member would have to be assigned to the task of obtaining and copying records requested by that attorney, who "would have to set up shop in the appraiser's office," Meara said.

He said the discovery process "would have been a nightmare."

He said the appraiser and county attorney had reviewed and approved the agreement before he submitted it to the taxpayer's attorney.

"It's taking advantage of a government program that happens to benefit a taxpayer," Meara said.

Walnut trees

The bid for logging walnut trees at the Bourbon County Landfill did not go to the person who initiated the idea with the commissioners.

Joe Butler of Walnut was awarded the bid for $6,200.

Dale Bollinger of Fort Scott submitted a bid for $4,526 and Miller Tree Service of Fort Scott bid $3,775.

Bollinger was the only bidder attending Friday's meeting. Warren thanked him for the work he did and for bringing the idea to them.

"If it wasn't for you coming forward, we wouldn't have done this," Warren said.

On April 7, Bollinger asked the commissioners if it would be possible for him or another logger to cut the trees at the landfill. The commissioners said the job would have to go out to bid, but asked Bollinger if he would mark and count the trees that are prime for harvest. Bollinger reported on April 11 he marked 21 walnut trees.

Commissioners reacted to the bid they received after Bollinger left the meeting.

Coleman's first reaction was, "Whoa!"

Later he said, "I never dreamed. The Miller bid for $3,700 was a thousand more than I was expecting."

"When I saw Dale's at $4,500, I thought, 'there it is,'" Warren said.

On April 11, Coleman suggested the county ask a conservation agent who specialized in trees to help them determine what the market value is. But on Friday, Coleman said he never pursued the idea of having an agent look at the trees. Warren said he learned an agent would advise them on which trees are quality and mature enough to be cut for logs, but not estimate their dollar value.

Bollinger told commissioners on April 7 logging prices will decrease after this month when the sap is running.

Butler is required to show proof of liability insurance before he begins cutting. When creating the bid specifications, commissioners agreed the treetops could be left and the county would use its equipment to clean up the brush piles. The work is to be completed before June 15 and done during regular landfill hours.

New county maps

A proof copy of a new map of Bourbon County was available for commissioners to review. Warren said the supply of maps sold in the Public Works office is nearly depleted. The last time the maps were printed was in 2010, according to Warren.

The county has ordered 2,500 maps from Sekan Printing Company of Fort Scott.

Warren asked fellow commissioners to look at the map and make of list of any changes or additions they would like to make.

"Just remember, the more changes you make, the longer it will take them to get it ready to print," Warren said.

He did not know a specific timeframe for the work to be completed after the proof is returned to the printer.

Other County business

* Commissioners signed paperwork with Landmark National Bank to finalize the loan for a new road grader purchased from Foley Equipment for $172,875. The county is paying $50,000 from the Special Road and Equipment Fund and borrowing the balance from Citizens State Bank.

* Warren said when the final draft of the hard-surface roads project list was completed, Maple Road from 75th to 125th streets was "inadvertently omitted."

He said the omission occurred when the commissioners and Roads and Bridges Director Jim Harris were "shuffling things around."

Commissioners and Harris held several work sessions to prioritize asphalt projects to begin this year and in 2014. The plan also extends to 2018 and 2022, listing which roads will be chip and sealed or asphalted again.

"We went through five or six revisions," Warren said.

On Monday, Harris reminded commissioners the list is a "working document" and is subject to change.

* Commissioners held an executive session with Meara to discuss possible litigation.