Lexington Herald Leader Newspaper: Tangled Alliances In Sale Of Land.
Tangled alliances in sale of land
By John Cheves
INEZ — Before it broke ground for its $6 million office building, Martin County bought part of the land — valued at $120,000 for tax purposes — for more than twice that sum from two local businessmen, including banker Mike Duncan, chairman of the Republican National Committee.
The man leading the office building project is coal operator Jim Booth, chairman of the Martin County Economic Development Authority. Booth is also a director at the Inez Deposit Bank, where Duncan, who married into the family that founded it, is chairman and chief executive officer.
Under Booth, the county Economic Development Authority opened accounts for the project at the Inez Deposit Bank.
Duncan did not return calls last week seeking comment. He is working for the campaign of Republican presidential nominee John McCain, and, in fact, brought McCain to the Inez office building site in April to speak.
In an interview, Booth said tangled alliances are unavoidable in a small town like Inez.
Duncan is a civic leader and his bank dominates the business scene, said Booth, who is a major supporter of Duncan's GOP friends. Booth and his family in Inez have given more than $278,000 in state and federal political donations in the last decade, mostly to Republicans.
But Booth said his business colleague did not get special treatment. The county needed Duncan's land, and Duncan was fairly compensated for his investment, nothing more, Booth said.
"We're not paying too much for anything. I feel pretty comfortable that we're not doing anything wrong," Booth said.
Last year, after the Economic Development Authority announced that it would erect an office building in Inez, drew up designs and reached a lease deal with the local welfare office, it finally bought the land where it had concluded the building would go.
The vacant lot at the rear of the property, where the office building will stand, was owned by Warfield grocer Dan Copley, now deceased. Martin County valued the lot at $120,000 for tax purposes. But it agreed to pay $285,600.
Martin County Judge-Executive Kelly Callaham said he didn't put too much stock in the $120,000 assessment. His county chronically undervalues property for tax purposes, he said, adding, "It's a serious problem."
Booth said the $285,600 price was based on a 2007 appraisal the county requested.
The appraiser, Paul David Brown of Paintsville, last week said it's hard to determine a property's value in a small, rural town like Inez because so little commercial property exists and changes hands.
"It's very, very difficult to do with any sort of precision. We have limited data to work with," Brown said.
Three months before the Economic Development Authority bought Copley's lot, Duncan filed a deed at the courthouse stating that he, as head of his bank's holding company, had purchased a half-interest in the land from Copley a decade earlier for $75,000.
As to why Duncan sat on the deed for 10 years, until a sale was imminent, "That's his business, not mine or yours," Booth said.
The Economic Development Authority handed Duncan a $142,800 check for his company's share, nearly twice what he said he paid 10 years earlier.
By John Cheves
INEZ — Before it broke ground for its $6 million office building, Martin County bought part of the land — valued at $120,000 for tax purposes — for more than twice that sum from two local businessmen, including banker Mike Duncan, chairman of the Republican National Committee.
The man leading the office building project is coal operator Jim Booth, chairman of the Martin County Economic Development Authority. Booth is also a director at the Inez Deposit Bank, where Duncan, who married into the family that founded it, is chairman and chief executive officer.
Under Booth, the county Economic Development Authority opened accounts for the project at the Inez Deposit Bank.
Duncan did not return calls last week seeking comment. He is working for the campaign of Republican presidential nominee John McCain, and, in fact, brought McCain to the Inez office building site in April to speak.
In an interview, Booth said tangled alliances are unavoidable in a small town like Inez.
Duncan is a civic leader and his bank dominates the business scene, said Booth, who is a major supporter of Duncan's GOP friends. Booth and his family in Inez have given more than $278,000 in state and federal political donations in the last decade, mostly to Republicans.
But Booth said his business colleague did not get special treatment. The county needed Duncan's land, and Duncan was fairly compensated for his investment, nothing more, Booth said.
"We're not paying too much for anything. I feel pretty comfortable that we're not doing anything wrong," Booth said.
Last year, after the Economic Development Authority announced that it would erect an office building in Inez, drew up designs and reached a lease deal with the local welfare office, it finally bought the land where it had concluded the building would go.
The vacant lot at the rear of the property, where the office building will stand, was owned by Warfield grocer Dan Copley, now deceased. Martin County valued the lot at $120,000 for tax purposes. But it agreed to pay $285,600.
Martin County Judge-Executive Kelly Callaham said he didn't put too much stock in the $120,000 assessment. His county chronically undervalues property for tax purposes, he said, adding, "It's a serious problem."
Booth said the $285,600 price was based on a 2007 appraisal the county requested.
The appraiser, Paul David Brown of Paintsville, last week said it's hard to determine a property's value in a small, rural town like Inez because so little commercial property exists and changes hands.
"It's very, very difficult to do with any sort of precision. We have limited data to work with," Brown said.
Three months before the Economic Development Authority bought Copley's lot, Duncan filed a deed at the courthouse stating that he, as head of his bank's holding company, had purchased a half-interest in the land from Copley a decade earlier for $75,000.
As to why Duncan sat on the deed for 10 years, until a sale was imminent, "That's his business, not mine or yours," Booth said.
The Economic Development Authority handed Duncan a $142,800 check for his company's share, nearly twice what he said he paid 10 years earlier.
Labels: Kentucky politics
posted by KYJurisDoctor at 7:28 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home