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Owners of Bartlett Bay house seek full tax rebate after water damage and disputed insurance payout
Summary
At a Board of Abatement hearing, Michelle Starr and William Warnock asked the board to rebate the 2025 tax bill ($10,527.15) for their Bartlett Bay Road property, saying a supply-line failure and mold left the house uninhabitable and insurance offered $276,000 while contractor bids estimate $800,000 to rebuild.
Chair Chris Shaw opened the hearing for parcel 013000069 for Michelle Starr and William Warnock. The applicants described a May supply‑line failure that flooded the two lower floors of a three‑story house, left mold throughout the interior and rendered the property uninhabitable.
"We received a settlement of 276,000 of a project that, according to the builder, is gonna be about 800,000," one applicant said, summarizing a recent insurance check and contractor estimate for full reconstruction. Applicants said they have been working with an insurance lawyer and an independent adjuster, and that the insurance payout falls far short of contractor estimates (the applicants supplied a mold remediation bid of about $100,000).
Board members asked detailed clarifying questions about the assessment and value: staff noted the tax bill for 2025 is $10,527.15 and asked whether applicants had other relief; applicants said no and described a $400,000 mortgage on the property and monthly mortgage payments of roughly $4,000–$4,500. The applicants said they intend to sell the lot as‑is rather than undertake a costly rebuild.
Members also asked whether any health or state authorities had condemned the property; applicants said no formal condemnation or state inspection had occurred but that contractors had advised the house may be structurally unsound. The board closed testimony, reminded applicants the board will deliberate and issue a written response within 30 days, and entered deliberation later in the meeting.
No final decision was taken in public; the board recorded that it would deliberate in closed session and notify applicants in writing.
