BOE cuts assessed value of fourplex after diesel spill, cites cleanup costs

The Fairbanks North Star Borough Board of Equalization on April 18 reduced the assessed value of a fourplex owned by Pamela D. Troop to $200,000 (land $16,163; improvements $183,837) after hearing testimony about a diesel spill, subsequent contamination work and a contaminated‑site designation from the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC).

Troop, the appellant, described a leak she said originated at a tiger‑loop connection to the building’s boiler in June 2019. She told the board crews removed contaminated soil in drums and contractors applied treatments; she said initial on‑site cleanups cost about $30,000 and engineers later estimated the work to complete remediation could be “up to a hundred thousand dollars” depending on the scope. “I had to put there were still 1 couple in an Airbnb … I had to send all these people to B and Bs … for weeks,” Troop said of the disruption during early cleanup efforts.

Deputy Assessor Ryan Danhauser told the board the assessor’s office had already applied a downward adjustment to account for the spill: a $90,501 reduction to improvements and a 25% reduction to land, bringing the assessor’s current land value to $16,163. Danhauser said engineers’ cost estimates ranged from a likely scenario of roughly $45,000–$46,000 to a worst case “$100,000 plus” if contamination extended into the street. The assessor’s packet noted an estimate of $95,886 in downward adjustments tied to the issue.

Board members weighed the uncertainty of cleanup scope and the likelihood that the property could be difficult or impossible to finance while the contaminated‑site designation remained on record. One member who had earlier disclosed familiarity with the property recused from the decision; the remaining four members voted to set the total value at $200,000. As Mister Daczynski, who moved the motion, summarized during discussion: “I could imagine … nobody would walk up to buy it. It isn't worth that much money with the cloud that is gonna be hanging over that property for a long time.”

The board set the value by motion (land $16,163; improvements $183,837) on a 4‑0 vote and deferred adoption of written findings and conclusions to May 2; the borough attorney asked to receive a Word draft of the resolution for the case to prepare the written order.

The borough packet notes the spill occurred approximately June 19, 2019; the appellant reported 30–60 gallons of heating oil/diesel released into the crawl space. Engineers who examined the site recommended maintaining the vapor barrier, monitoring for vapor intrusion, and involving DEC for any future excavation. Danhauser also told the board that DEC had moved the site from an initial cleanup status onto the contaminated‑sites list, a designation that can limit financing options until resolved.