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http://www.pnj.com/article/20130710/NEWS01/307100033/Maritime-Park-will-be-taxed
Escambia Property Appraiser Chris Jones says the cash-strapped Community Maritime Park’s governing board will have to pony up property taxes this year.
Jones said he hopes to determine the total bill and decide how much of the park will be subject to taxation by August. But June 28, he formally told the Community Maritime Park Associates board it will not have a full exemption.
“There are certainly areas that there is no gray area,” Jones said.
The city anticipates subsidizing the park board with about $400,000 this year and $320,000 next year, so the extra tax bill will further burden an operation in the red.
The $18 million stadium is on the tax rolls for the first time this year, and the sticking point is whether the for-profit Blue Wahoos are the central users of the stadium. The CMPA must prove its predominant use is public to receive the exemption.
The use agreement with the Wahoos states that should property taxes ever be levied, the CMPA will pay them.
In some cases, the answer is clear, Jones said.
For example, the team has leased out space to Beach Berry Frozen Yogurt and WSRE for the Learning Lab and Imagination Station. Both will be taxed because because the team — rather than the CMPA board — clearly controls that space, he said.
He’s still reviewing documents from the CMPA and Wahoos to determine how much of the stadium will be taxed.
If the entire stadium were taxed, the $18 million stadium could generate a tax bill totaling more than $340,000 every year.
CMPA Chairman Collier Merrill said he plans to meet with Jones on Thursday to discuss the issue. He agrees that a portion of the stadium should be taxed but said the predominant use of the stadium is public.
If the stadium were to be taxed, the city’s Community Redevelopment Agency would receive a substantial portion of the CMPA’s bill. It’s not clear what that obligation would mean. The Escambia School District, however, would be a major beneficiary.
Escambia Property Appraiser Chris Jones says the cash-strapped Community Maritime Park’s governing board will have to pony up property taxes this year.
Jones said he hopes to determine the total bill and decide how much of the park will be subject to taxation by August. But June 28, he formally told the Community Maritime Park Associates board it will not have a full exemption.
“There are certainly areas that there is no gray area,” Jones said.
The city anticipates subsidizing the park board with about $400,000 this year and $320,000 next year, so the extra tax bill will further burden an operation in the red.
The $18 million stadium is on the tax rolls for the first time this year, and the sticking point is whether the for-profit Blue Wahoos are the central users of the stadium. The CMPA must prove its predominant use is public to receive the exemption.
The use agreement with the Wahoos states that should property taxes ever be levied, the CMPA will pay them.
In some cases, the answer is clear, Jones said.
For example, the team has leased out space to Beach Berry Frozen Yogurt and WSRE for the Learning Lab and Imagination Station. Both will be taxed because because the team — rather than the CMPA board — clearly controls that space, he said.
He’s still reviewing documents from the CMPA and Wahoos to determine how much of the stadium will be taxed.
If the entire stadium were taxed, the $18 million stadium could generate a tax bill totaling more than $340,000 every year.
CMPA Chairman Collier Merrill said he plans to meet with Jones on Thursday to discuss the issue. He agrees that a portion of the stadium should be taxed but said the predominant use of the stadium is public.
If the stadium were to be taxed, the city’s Community Redevelopment Agency would receive a substantial portion of the CMPA’s bill. It’s not clear what that obligation would mean. The Escambia School District, however, would be a major beneficiary.