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County to stop charging future taxes on condemned Ripley hotel while parties seek remediation
Summary
Legislators approved a section-1138 prospective cancellation to stop charging taxes on a derelict Ripley hotel parcel that has been foreclosed, partially demolished and is landlocked by an adjoining building; county and town officials said removal or redevelopment will require engineering and possible combined ownership.
The Audit & Control Committee voted on April 16 to authorize a section 1138 filing to cancel future tax charges on a condemned downtown Ripley hotel parcel that has languished since foreclosure in 2011.
Todd Button, first deputy director of finance, said the building — once the Ripley Hotel — was partially demolished in 2010 and remains condemned. The parcel shares a party wall with an adjacent former hardware-store building, complicating demolition and redevelopment. "We foreclosed on it. We put it up for auction and nobody wanted it," Button said, explaining the county stopped short of taking tax deed title because that would make the county responsible for remediation.
Committee members described the vote as a way to "stop the bleeding" — county and town staff had been guaranteeing municipal and school-share taxes year after year on a parcel that yields no revenue and imposes liability. The county’s action will cease future tax assessments until the property is brought back onto the roll through sale, demolition and redevelopment or changed ownership, officials said.
Several members urged municipalities to formalize expressed interest in writing during the foreclosure cycle so the county can hand properties to towns that will take responsibility. Members also recommended the county continue working with the land bank, engineers and local officials to analyze options: combine ownership of the two adjoining parcels, shore the exposed wall, or pursue demolition if technical solutions exist.
Button said the property’s current assessed value is very low (he cited a recent assessment of about $9,000), and that the county had guaranteed town and school tax payments for roughly 16 years on the parcel. The committee carried the resolution to authorize the filing; no immediate funds were appropriated for demolition or remediation at this meeting.
