Michigan Athletic Club assessment error adds up to $610K in tax refunds

Michigan Athletic Club assessment error adds up to $610K in tax refunds  An assessing error involving the Michigan Athletic Club will cost Meridian Township, the Okemos school district and several other public agencies a total of nearly $611,000.

Under a proposed settlement with the township, $610,851 will be refunded to the health club owned by Lansing’s Sparrow Health System. Okemos Public Schools will have to pay back $251,386. Township Treasurer Julie Brixie said fees and interest have not been included.

Okemos schools’ director of finance, Robert Clark, said the refund will come from the district’s debt and sinking funds, not the general fund used for most operations.

“We have monies set aside in anticipation of rulings just like this,” Clark said. “We expect it and we plan for it.”

The settlement is based “primarily on the appraisal and getting the records corrected,” said David Lee, assessor for Meridian Township and East Lansing.

Lee said a temporary dome used to cover a pool and tennis courts at the athletic center at 2900 Hannah Blvd. was counted three times — twice as real property and once as personal property. The dome should only have been counted once as personal property.

Personal property is defined as something movable. Real property is something permanent such as a structure or land.

Lee said the error was made before he became Meridian Township’s assessor in September 2010. The mistake was discovered earlier this year.

The settlement reduces the state equalized value of the property from $15.5 million for the tax years 2011 and 2012 to $10.6 million and $10.8 million, respectively. The impact is roughly a 25 percent cut in Sparrow’s annual tax bill for the Michigan Athletic Club.

Ingham County will have to pay back more than $95,000, and Meridian Township more than $67,000.

It follows a high-profile case in March in which Walker-based retailer Meijer Inc. won a $320,165 refund affecting several public agencies throughout the county. In that settlement, Meridian Township accepted Meijer’s argument that its Okemos store should be considered obsolete for tax purposes.

The Michigan Athletic Club’s property comprises 20 acres.

It was purchased in 1998 for $34 million, according to township records.

Sparrow officials had little comment beyond acknowledging the settlement and pledging to continue to “work with our community partners for the benefit of the people in Meridian Township and the surrounding areas.” An assessing error involving the Michigan Athletic Club will cost Meridian Township, the Okemos school district and several other public agencies a total of nearly $611,000.

Under a proposed settlement with the township, $610,851 will be refunded to the health club owned by Lansing’s Sparrow Health System. Okemos Public Schools will have to pay back $251,386. Township Treasurer Julie Brixie said fees and interest have not been included.

Okemos schools’ director of finance, Robert Clark, said the refund will come from the district’s debt and sinking funds, not the general fund used for most operations.

“We have monies set aside in anticipation of rulings just like this,” Clark said. “We expect it and we plan for it.”

The settlement is based “primarily on the appraisal and getting the records corrected,” said David Lee, assessor for Meridian Township and East Lansing.

Lee said a temporary dome used to cover a pool and tennis courts at the athletic center at 2900 Hannah Blvd. was counted three times — twice as real property and once as personal property. The dome should only have been counted once as personal property.

Personal property is defined as something movable. Real property is something permanent such as a structure or land.

Lee said the error was made before he became Meridian Township’s assessor in September 2010. The mistake was discovered earlier this year.

The settlement reduces the state equalized value of the property from $15.5 million for the tax years 2011 and 2012 to $10.6 million and $10.8 million, respectively. The impact is roughly a 25 percent cut in Sparrow’s annual tax bill for the Michigan Athletic Club.

Ingham County will have to pay back more than $95,000, and Meridian Township more than $67,000.

It follows a high-profile case in March in which Walker-based retailer Meijer Inc. won a $320,165 refund affecting several public agencies throughout the county. In that settlement, Meridian Township accepted Meijer’s argument that its Okemos store should be considered obsolete for tax purposes.

The Michigan Athletic Club’s property comprises 20 acres.

It was purchased in 1998 for $34 million, according to township records.

Sparrow officials had little comment beyond acknowledging the settlement and pledging to continue to “work with our community partners for the benefit of the people in Meridian Township and the surrounding areas.”