Published: September 04, 2008 01:54 am      

LOCKPORT: City, Granchelli, settle series of value suits

The City of Lockport recently settled three years of assessment grievances with large landowner Elmer A. Granchelli and it won’t have to refund him any overpaid tax.

Granchelli, Joseph J. Granchelli, Velco Inc. and Centennial Development filed suit three years in a row to force down the assessments placed on 22 properties citywide. The suits challenged the assessment rolls produced for the 2006-07, 2007-08 and 2008-09 tax years and sought a $1.3 million reduction in their total assessed value.

The city and Granchelli negotiated an out-of-court settlement knocking back the combined value of the properties $526,000.

Assessor Peter Galarneau said Granchelli agreed to value reductions on 13 of the 22 properties and, significantly, to accept the reduced values on the 2008-09 assessment roll only. Reductions will not be applied to the prior rolls, meaning the city won’t have to agree it overtaxed Granchelli and pay him refunds.

“This will save a considerable amount of money for the city, the county and the school district,” Galarneau said.

Terms of the settlement call for the city to freeze the value of all 22 properties at their 2008-09 assessment levels, unless Granchelli makes physical changes such as addition or demolition, or adds tenancies at commercial properties. In those cases, revaluation would be called for, and Granchelli would be free to challenge the adjusted numbers.

The covered properties are a blend of commercial, residential and vacant lots. Granchelli secured a $125,000 reduction on the value of his home 1 Sargent Drive, to $425,000, and reduced values for nine downtown commercial properties.

The largest cut, $100,000, was awarded to 50 East Ave., which is anchored by a Rite-Aid store. That property is now assessed at $475,000.

The parcel at 225 Walnut St., which once held Subdelicious, got a $65,000 value reduction and is now assessed at $100,000.

The F&M building, 116 Main St., got a $25,000 reduction and is now assessed at $50,000.

Galarneau said Granchelli succeeded in arguing some value reductions were warranted on the basis of vacancy rates or physical deterioration. The F&M building, a high-rise office building, is said to have top-to-bottom damage inside, after water leaked through a roof opening, he said. Another building needs its air conditioning fully replaced.

“There are some problems to be solved before (Granchelli) can fully utilize the buildings,” Galarneau said.

With the settlement, the combined value of the 22 properties is $2,487,100.

The city hired special counsel, Michael J. Hughes of Buffalo, to hash out the settlement because of the size of the suits, Galarneau said.

The settlement was granted Aug. 20 by Niagara County Supreme Court Justice Ralph A. Boniello III.