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07/24/2018 12:00 AMFor the past few years, the Military Historians Museum at 24 Westbrook Place was rarely open. It appeared to close for good in January 2018 after Bill Reid, long thought to be principal and owner of the non-profit museum, died. After that, however, a mystery began to unfold as people in Town Hall and at the Westbrook Historical Society began to wonder who actually owned the museum and its contents—and whether an ownership status change in December 2013 meant the town was owed back taxes that were never paid.
In early March 2018, townspeople including Westbrook Historical Society (WHS) President Cathie Doane noticed that Penske rental trucks at the museum were being filled with the museum’s contents by a crew of movers. Russ Loller of Battlezone Army & Navy confirmed that his firm had bought the museum’s contents.
The question of who or what entity was receiving the cash from this artifact sale remained. And who or what entity now owned the building? And was the owner still a non-profit eligible for a property tax exemption, or not?
Doane was saddened when she saw trucks taking away the museum’s contents; she had hoped the artifacts could have stayed in Westbrook. The fact that the contents were sold surprised her since everyone had thought the museum was owned by a non-profit, so she decided to research the property’s history in the WHS archives. There she found a record of a 1978 lease of the building, the former Town Post Office, between the Neidlinger family and the Company of Military Historians. Next she found another record dating to 1982, stating the property was sold by the same family to William Reid.
Assessor Pam Fogarty said that assessor records show the town received documentation around that time that the Military Historians Museum that Reid administered was an IRS-qualified 501c3 organization exempt from paying property tax. So from that date, the town did not tax the owner. In December 2013, however, the ownership status of the property changed, and the new owners did not submit to the town the documentation proving the owner was still a non-profit. Without that proof, the new owner or owners now owed town property taxes.
Qualified non-profit organizations that own real estate are eligible to receive a property tax exemption from the town. They are required to prove to the town that the property owner’s non-profit status continues every four years through a signed form sent to the town assessor and kept on file.
The sale of the museum’s contents raised questions about whether the property’s owners were earning revenue and therefore, would no longer qualify as a non-profit deserving of the tax exemption. A town investigation of land records confirmed that property ownership was transferred from the prior non-profit owner to Charles W. Reid on Dec. 31, 2013. Then on May 27, May 2014, ownership of 24 Westbrook Place changed again; the new owner was now the Military Historians Museum, LLC, with principals listed as Charles Reid and Karen Hartt.
With no proof yet provided that the new owners were still eligible for a non-profit tax exemption, Assessor Pam Fogarty and Tax Collector Kim Bratz decided to bill the owners for the back taxes owed. On April 2, 2018, the Town of Westbrook mailed out a bill for $14,479.25 for taxes and accrued interest.
Bratz said the town had not yet received any tax payment as of July 17. The town has filed a tax lien on the property records for 24 Westbrook Place. If the owners do not respond or submit a payment soon, by the end of August, the town would send the delinquent accounts to the town attorney to start the collection process.
Before placing the lien, upon the advice of Town Attorney Michael Wells, First Selectman Noel Bishop and Fogarty wrote a letter to the owner of record, the Military Historians Museum, LLC, asking for documentation of eligibility for a non-profit tax exemption. After two months, when no proof arrived, the tax bill was sent and the lien recorded.
“I will always give taxpayers an opportunity to explain to me why they don’t feel the owe the taxes,” said Fogarty.
In this case the owners were not able to provide the documentation to Fogarty proving they did not owe the back taxes billed. The property’s owners were assessed for property taxes owed for 2014 and 2015, when the property’s assessed value was $163,500, and for 2016 and 2017, when the property’s value was $170,000.
According to the town’s land records, the property was sold again after the non-profit versus private ownership issue became public in March 2018. On April 19, 2018, a $225,000 sale of 24 Westbrook Place: Military Historians Museum LLC, to Military HQ, LLC, was recorded.