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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2026-09-08 Meeting Minutes TAX BOARD OF REVIEW Minutes of September 8, 2026 1 TAX BOARD OF REVIEW MEETING MINUTES APPEAL HEARING Tuesday, September 8, 2026 West Hawaii Civic Center | Community Hale 74-5044 Ane Keohokalole Hwy., Kailua-Kona, Hawaii CALL TO ORDER Chairperson Jason Eisert called the meetfng to order at 9:00 am Present: Board Members: Jason Eisert, Mark Davis and Grace Reinhard; Deputy Corporatfon Counsel Sylvia Wan and Deputy Corporatfon Counsel Keyra Wong; Real Property Tax Asst. Administrator Keita Jo, and RPT Appeals Board Clerk Tyoany Tavares. Excused: Board member, Kimberly Lin. STATEMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC There were no members or statements from the public. APPROVAL OF MINUTES The Board was presented with the meetfng minutes of August 4, 2026, and August 5, 2026. Mr. Davis motioned approving the meeting minutes of both August 4, 2026 and August 5, 2026, as presented. Seconded by Ms. Reinhard. A call for discussion was made. Seeing none, the motion passed with a vote of 3:0. TAX APPEAL CASE HEARINGS Note: Prior to the start of the case hearings, Deputy Corporatfon Counsel Sylvia Wan, announced the general procedures of the appeal hearing and advised all Appellants and the Department of the procedure the Board would be following for the rendering of their decision and the Appellants’ further right to appeal to the Tax Appeal Court located in Honolulu within 30 days from the date of the decision letter that the appellant will be receiving via certffied mail. For each appeal case, the appraiser submitted a packet of informatfon to the Board, unless there had been a prior settlement with the Appellant or withdrawal. If the Appellant was not present, any informatfon sent in by the Appellant was presented to the Board along with the appraisers’ packet. TAX BOARD OF REVIEW Minutes of September 8, 2026 2 CASE #57185 – KINNEY,CLAY (ALI’I RESIDENCE LLC) TMK 7-6-017-037-0000 The appellant, Kinney Clay, was present for the appeal hearing. Present for the County was appraiser, Joseph Muin. The subject property is a vacant ocean front lot located at 75-6164 Alii Drive, North Kona. It is zoned 1C and in the Residentfal tax class. The land value is under appeal. The appellant presented their case. The County presented their case and recommended reducing the land value to $1,192,900. The County derived the updated price per square foot based on researching the North Kona oceanfront lots ensuring they value the subject property lower than superior lots, and higher than inferior lots. This value of $83/sf was used to calculate the adjusted assessed land value for the subject settlement and is a reductfon of 36.70% of the current assessed value and aligns with the independent appraisal. Rebuttals were made by both the appellant and the County. A call for questfons was made. Mr. Davis motioned to reduce the land value to $1,027,800. Seconded by Mr. Eisert. A call for discussion was made. Mr. Davis noted the County determined value based on comps value per square feet and his calculations were based on the numbers provided by the County. Mr. Eisert added that he supports the reduction in land value. Ms. Reinhard noted that there was consideration but without the evidence provided, she does not support the motion. Motion fails with a vote of 2:1 (Reinhard). Ms. Reinhard motioned to reduce the land value to the County’s recommendation of $1,192,900. Seconded by Mr. Eisert. A call for discussion was made. Ms. Reinhard noted that based on the current evidence provided, there was consideration to reduce the value but with the evidence currently reflecting the lot as 14,372 sf the value cannot be reduced beyond what has been provided to the Board. Mr. Eisert noted that he supports the motion. Motion passed with a vote of 3:0. CASE #57292 – SHOUP,ERIC S/SIEVERS,LISA C TMK 7-5-033-031-0000 The appellant, Lisa Sievers, was present for the appeal hearing. Present for the County was appraiser, Joseph Muin. The subject property is located at 75-389 Hoene Street in the Kailua View Estates Subdivision in North Kona. It is zoned 1C and in the Homeowner tax class with a land area of0.520 acre (15,334 sf) and a 2,905 sf dwelling which consist of 4 bedrooms, 4 full bathrooms, 1 half bathroom, was built in 1990 and is a grade 4. Both the land and building values are under appeal. The appellant presented their case. The County presented their case and recommended reducing the building value to $830,500 while sustaining the land value of $376,100 for a total assessed value of $1,206,600. Rebuttals were made by both the appellant and the County. TAX BOARD OF REVIEW Minutes of September 8, 2026 3 A call for questfons was made. Mr. Davis motioned to sustain the County’s land value of $376,100 and the reduction of the building value to $830,500. Seconded by Ms. Reindhard. A call for discussion was made. Mr. Davis noted that with the current issues and condition of the property, the reduction is valid. Mr. Eisert noted his empathy with the appellants and the situation they were put in. Motion passed with a vote of 3:0. Recess: 10:07 a.m. Reconvened: 10:17 a.m. CASE #57203 – MALISON,JEFFREY ALLEN TMK 7-7-009-059-0000 The appellant, Jeffrey Malison, was present for the appeal hearing via telephone. Present for the County was appraiser, Joseph Muin. The subject property is located at 77-6450 Walua Rd in the Sunset View Terrace Lots in North Kona. It is zoned 1B and in the Homeowner tax class with a land area of 18,430 sf and a 1,626 sf dwelling which consists of 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, built in 2009 and a grade 5. Both the land and building values are under appeal. The appellant presented their case. The County presented their case and recommended reducing the land value to $594,700 while sustaining the building value of $694,500 for a total assessed value of $1,289,200. Based on the site inspectfon, the subject property’s land value has been reduced by 10% to account for topographic issues, specifically the short and steep driveway. Rebuttals were made by both the appellant and the County. A call for questfons was made. Mr. Eisert motioned to reduce the land value to $594,700 and reducing the building value to $571,000 for a total value of $1,165,700. Seconded by Ms. Reinhard. A call for discussion was made. Mr. Eisert noted that the area around the subject property is under assessed and feels the appellant should be too as that would be equitable with the evidence provided by the appellant. Motion fails with a vote of 2:1 (Davis). Mr. Davis motioned to reduce the land value to the County’s recommendation of $594,700 while sustaining the building value of $694,500. Seconded by Ms. Reinhard. A call for discussion was made. Mr. Davis noted the age of the property being younger than those of the comp sales provided. Motion passed with a vote of 3:0. CASE #57302 – SHAW,KELLY D TMK 7-5-045-004-0000 The appellant was not present for the appeal hearing. Present for the County was appraiser, Joseph Muin. TAX BOARD OF REVIEW Minutes of September 8, 2026 4 The subject property is located at 75-3772 Lei Alii Loop in the Ali’I Palms Subdivision in North Kona. It is zoned 1A and in the Homeowner tax class with a land area of 5,602 sf and a 1,930 sf dwelling which consists of 3 bedrooms, 2 full bathrooms, 1 half bathroom, was built in 2024 and a grade 5. Both the land and building values are under appeal. The County presented their case and recommended sustaining both the land value of $491,100 and the building value of $854,200 as the subject property is being assessed at $697.05/sf which is lower than the median price of $712.12/sf. A call for questfons was made. Mr. Davis motioned to sustain both the County’s land value of $491,100 and building value of $854,200. Seconded by Mr. Eisert. A call for discussion was made. Mr. Davis noted there is a lack of evidence provided by the appellant showing the assessed value of the property exceeds by more than 20 percent the ratio of assessment to market value. The motion passed with a vote of 3:0. CASE #57279 – BETLACH,JOHN F TMK 7-7-019-011-0000 The appellant was not present for the appeal hearing. Present for the County was appraiser, Joseph Muin. The subject property is located at 77-362 Paulina Place in the Kuakini Heights Subdivision in North Kona. It is zoned 1B and in the Homeowner tax class with a land area of 11,284 sf and has a 3,285 sf dwelling which consists of 4bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, was built in 1981 and a grade 4. Both the land and building values are under appeal. The County presented their case and recommended sustaining both the land value of $409,900 and the building value of $625,500 as the subject property is currently assessed at $315.19/sf which is lower than the median price of $550.02/sf. A call for questfons was made. Mr. Eisert motioned to sustain both the County’s land value of $409,900 and the building value of $625,500. Seconded by Ms. Reinhard. A call for discussion was made. Mr. Eisert noted there is a lack of evidence provided by the appellant to support their opinion on value and other claims made. The motion passed with a vote of 3:0. CASE #57299 – WINKLER,GABRIEL (AARNA OHANA LLC) TMK 7-8-012-041-0000 Note: Mr. Eisert noted for the record that he has previously worked with Mr. Winkler, but he does not believe that this will affect his ability to work with this case. Seeing no further issues with the rest of the Board members, the hearing proceeded. TAX BOARD OF REVIEW Minutes of September 8, 2026 5 The appellant was not present for the appeal hearing. Present for the County was appraiser, Joseph Muin. The subject property is located at 78-109A Holua Road in Keauhou overlooking He’eai Cove in North Kona. It is zoned 1B and in the Residentfal tax class with a land area of 0.2379 acre and has a 3,671 sf dwelling which consists of 3 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms, was built in 2005 and grade 8-. Both the land and building values are under appeal. The County presented their case and recommended reducing both the land value to $922,500 and the building value to $3,774,400 due to the existfng repairs necessary and to reflect the eventual cost to cure the seawall issues that have been known since 2011. A call for questfons was made. Ms. Reinhard motioned to reduce the land value to the County’s recommendation of $922,500 and the building value to $3,774,400 for a total of $4,696,900. Seconded by Mr. Eisert. A call for discussion was made. Mr. Davis noted that he agrees with the values provided and that they do not exceed by more than 20 percent the ratio of assessment to market value. The motion passed with a vote of 3:0. Recess: 11:08 a.m. Reconvened: 11:16 a.m. The County presented to the Board the following case(s) that have been removed from the record due to the appellants’ request to withdraw or signed settlement agreement: TAX MAP KEY CASE NO. APPELLANT 220600580000 57359 PIVOTAL TAX SOLUTIONS 220600590000 57360 PIVOTAL TAX SOLUTIONS 220600680000 57361 PIVOTAL TAX SOLUTIONS 220600690000 57362 PIVOTAL TAX SOLUTIONS CASE #57367, #57366, #57364 – PIVOTAL TAX SOLUTIONS (LANIHAU PROPERTIES LLC) TMK 7-5-005-089, -088; -086 The appellant, Wayne Tannenbaum, was present for the appeal hearing vis telephone. Present for the County was appraiser, Wendy Hunt. At this time, the appellant, Mr. Tannenbaum, elected to verbally withdraw the appeals contesting the land values for the subject parcels 750050890000 (case no. 57367), 750050880000 (case no. 57366), and 750050860000 (case no. 57364). CASE #57365 - PIVOTAL TAX SOLUTIONS (LANIHAU PROPERTIES LLC) TMK 7-5-005-087-0000 TAX BOARD OF REVIEW Minutes of September 8, 2026 6 The appellant, Wayne Tannenbaum, was present for the appeal hearing vis telephone. Present for the County was appraiser, Wendy Hunt. The subject property is located at 75-5608 Kuakini Highway in Kona. It is zoned 3M and in the Commercial tax class with a land area of 49,310 (1.132 acre) and a 16,617 sf commercial building. The building value is under appeal. The appellant presented their case. The County presented their case and recommended sustaining the land value of $1,617,400 and building value of $3,231,500. Rebuttals were made by both the appellant and the County. A call for questfons was made. Mr. Davis motioned to sustain the County’s land value of $1,617,400 and building value of $3,231,500. Seconded by Ms. Reinhard. A call for discussion was made. Mr. Davis noted that there is no evidence showing there is a lack of uniformity or inequality resulting from the use of illegal assessment methods or an error in the application of the methods. Mr. Davis added that the County has provided valid evidence on the values and the application of Marshall and Swift. The motion passed with a vote of 3:0. The County presented to the Board the following case(s) that have been removed from the record due to the appellants’ request to withdraw or signed settlement agreement: TAX MAP KEY CASE NO. APPELLANT 210030050000 57378 LEBLANC,GREG ANNOUNCEMENTS The next meetfng of the County of Hawaii Board of Review will be held on Tuesday, October 6, 2026, at 9:00 a.m. at the Aupuni Center Conference Room located at 101 Pauahi Street in Hilo Hawaii 96720. ADJOURNMENT Mr. Davis motioned to adjourn the meeting. Seconded by Mr. Eisert. A call for discussion. Seeing none, the motion passed by a vote of 3:0. The meetfng was adjourned at 11:56 a.m. Respectiully Submitted, Tyoany Tavares RPT Appeals Board Clerk