Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Property Taxes topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Sherman County commissioners decline late request to avert tax sale for Ram Hospitality
Summary
An attorney for Ram Hospitality asked Sherman County commissioners to abate taxes or allow a repayment plan to remove a hotel property from a tax sale scheduled next week. Commissioners declined, citing timing and precedent, and said they will proceed with the tax sale unless taxes are paid before the sale.
An attorney representing Ram Hospitality asked Sherman County commissioners on Monday to pull a Goodland commercial property out of an upcoming tax sale and either abate some taxes or allow a short repayment plan so the owner could pursue a conversion project.
The attorney told commissioners that owner Jackadish Patel had recently regained the property through foreclosure and was exploring options to convert part of the site to family apartments and part to a small truck-stop franchise. He said the judgment amount owed to the county was about $52,520 and asked the commissioners to consider abatement or a payment schedule because the property title had only recently returned to his client’s control.
Commissioner Kevin Zimmerman and other commissioners pushed back on timing and precedent. "I don't think we have any history of anything and you know ... it sets a bad precedence for us because everybody else is going to come to us asking the same thing," Zimmerman said. Chairman Steve Ever and Commissioner Harvey Swagger agreed that the county did not have time to negotiate a special arrangement in the week before the tax sale. "Right now, my feelings with the council is that ... we're just going to continue the course that we're on and ... go for the tax sale unless Mr. Patel comes up with a payment to take care of the taxes," one commissioner said.
County staff told the board the tax sale was set for next Tuesday. The attorney acknowledged the late timing and said his client would prefer a payment plan if the board were willing to consider one, but he did not present a detailed conversion timeline or a concrete financing package at the meeting.
The commissioners did not adopt a repayment plan or abatement at the meeting. They left the option open for the owner to stop the sale by paying the taxes due before the scheduled sale date.
The attorney said he would follow up with county staff and pursue other channels, and the board closed the discussion with an invitation to return if a clearer plan and timetable were available.
