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Church gets input on Idora land planSFlb
By christine keeling
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"There was a lot of communication on the types of strategies we can employ to return the property to productive use." - Presley Gillespie, YNDC director
youngstown
The deadline has passed for a Youngstown church to appeal the state’s denial of tax exemption on the Idora Park parcel.
But Mount Calvary Pentecostal Church continues to meet with community leaders to move forward with its development plans for the former amusement park property on the South Side. The park closed after a fire in 1984, and the church purchased the property in 1985.
The church, however, will have to pay its past due real-estate taxes if it wants to seek exemption again on its property taxes.
The Ohio Department of Taxation said it did not receive an appeal request from Mount Calvary within the 60-day appeal period, after it deemed the property ineligible for tax exemption.
The church applied to the Mahoning County auditor for real-property tax exemption and remission on its Idora parcel and 12 surrounding properties on Woodford and Pearce avenues in 2007. The state Department of Taxation denied the request Sept. 19 after it determined that the parcels were not being used exclusively for public worship or actively being developed with a current, tangible and funded plan.
Mount Calvary can reapply for the tax exemption, but it must provide a county treasurer’s certificate that shows all current taxes on the parcels are paid, said Gary Gudmundson, communication director for the tax department, in an email. If the tax commissioner approves the request, tax, penalty and interest for the three years preceding the application may be forgiven, he wrote.
According to the Mahoning County auditor’s website, the church owes more than $20,000 in unpaid property taxes on the Idora and surrounding properties.
The 26-acre parcel’s future was discussed by representatives of the church Dec. 1 during a meeting with members of the Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corp. and Debora Flora, executive director of Lien Forward Ohio.
“First and foremost the meeting was very productive,” said Presley Gillespie, executive director of YNDC. “There was a lot of communication on the types of strategies we can employ to return the property to productive use.”
Conversations centered on how the land bank could be used to reduce some of the debt and taxes on the property, he said. But he added, the discussions were more fact-finding than about making commitments.
“Everyone is now thinking very intensely on how to develop the right solution,” Gillespie said. “We want to honor the church’s vision and the community’s vision.”
Pastor Shawn C. Tyson was not available for comment for this story, his office said. But he told The Vindicator in October that the church planned to “beautify” the Idora parcel beginning in spring 2012. The plans included landscaping and developing athletic fields, he said.