(Spirit Lake)– A tax abatement request drew some discussion at this (Tues.) morning’s Dickinson County Board of Supervisors meeting.
County Treasurer Kris Rowley told board members it came to her attention in January of this year that some property taxes and interest levied against the Arnolds Park Amusement Park dormitory had become delinquent. Rowley says upon doing some research, it was determined by the Iowa Department of Revenue that Historic Arnolds Park, Incorporated does qualify for the exemption with its nonprofit status. She added the exemption will be in place from here on out, now that the paperwork has been filed. Historic Arnolds Park CEO Jon Pausley told supervisors that due to an oversight at the time, the paperwork didn’t get filed when the organization obtained the property a couple of years ago.
Supervisor Levi Markwardt expressed some concern over a possible precedence but said in this case, some leniency is also important…
“What are the likely chances this happens again? I understand that things get missed and not filed correctly or forgotten, and I want to provide as much grace as possible in a situation like that.”
Fellow supervisor Kim Wemersen said he would like to see the county pursue the interest charge but agreed that the amusement park operations are vital to the Iowa Great Lakes. The supervisors then voted 5-0 to approve waiving both the past due taxes and interest.
