By DONNA KENNY KIRWAN

PAWTUCKET — Portraying it as an effort to encourage redevelopment in the wake of the state’s curtailment of its historic tax credits program, the City Council on Wednesday approved a 10-year tax treaty for the developer who is planning to rehabilitate the old school administration building at 81 Park Place.

By a 6 to 2 vote, the council agreed to a proposed tax treaty between the city and the developer, Amaral Revite Corporation, that will allow for no tax payments to be made during the first two years while the building is being renovated and tenanted.
According to the rest of the agreement, for years three through five of ownership, Amaral Revite will pay $10,000 annually in taxes based on the building’s sale price of $500,000.
Then, in years six through ten, the increase in taxes would be phased in as follows: in year six, 50 percent of the value of improvements (estimated at $1.2 million) or $750,000 plus the base of $500,000 equaling $1.25 million.
In year seven, this would increase to 60 percent of the value of improvements, in year eight, 70 percent, in year nine, 90 percent, and then full valuation.
Tax Assessor David Quinn said that the agreement will bring in new tax dollars because the property is currently exempt from the tax rolls. He said the city will receive approximately $194,686 over the next 10 years, while allowing Amaral Revite to save $228,534. Without the tax treaty, the total taxes over the same 10-year period would have been $453,220.
Quinn and Planning Director Michael Cassidy called the agreement a “win-win” situation. The two also said that, because developer David Amaral had put in a bid to purchase the building when the state’s historic tax credit program was still in place, it was felt that the city should work with him to encourage the redevelopment of the antiquated school building.
Councilor Thomas Hodge, who voted against the agreement, said he considered the 10-year period to be too long. He noted that the building would likely be ready for tenants in years three and four, and suggested that a six or seven year agreement would have been more beneficial for the city.
Councilor Donald Grebien also opposed the treaty as presented, saying that he would have preferred an agreement that allowed the city to collect some amount of tax revenue in the first two years, instead of zero.
However, Councilor John Barry, chairman of the Finance Committee, noted that because the building was originally used as a school, it was never on the city’s tax rolls. “To bring in $194,000 over a 10 year period is well worth the effort of having a treaty,” said Barry.
Also, in a surprise move, the council refused to support a motion by Councilor Donald Grebien to have the city solicitor’s office provide an overview of all legal expenses that came from outside attorneys over the last two years.
The council had previously approved a similar request Grebien made several weeks ago to receive a detailed account of all outside legal fees, including back-up documentation. After receiving a letter from the city solicitor saying that more time was needed to fulfill his request, Grebien said he would just like an “overview” of the money spent on outside legal services provided to him by Friday, while the back-up information was still being gathered.
However, because no one seconded Grebien’s motion, it failed.
Grebien, who is running for mayor against incumbent James E. Doyle, later told the TIMES that he has been raising questions and concerns about the mayor’s budget both as a councilman and as a candidate, and feels that some of his requests are purposely being stalled for political reasons.
He said that attorney John Gannon, a volunteer in his campaign, has been seeking records about payments related not only to the outside legal fees but also payments made for purchases and expenditures in other city departments. He is also seeking documentation related to the construction of the new animal shelter in Slater Park.
Grebien maintains that Gannon has been charged what he maintains are “outrageous” sums of money by the city for the requested documents, which, he maintains should be public record. “In one case that had to do with the dog pound, it was almost $1,000”, said Grebien, of the fee charged for staff time and paperwork.
In the matter of the legal fees, Grebien said he realizes his original request could be cumbersome, but said he was simply trying to expedite matters in asking for an overview. In some of the other areas, such as questionable car repair work and unnecessary purchases, he said that “as an elected official, we hear things, and we’re trying to get documentation so these issues can be looked at more closely.”
In other matters, the City Council Committee on Claims and Pending Suits reported that a decision was made to refer a $1 million claim against the city from two women who were involved in a crash with a Pawtucket Police cruiser to the city’s legal department for further review.
The claimants, Samantha Sloan and Melissa Parker, are seeking damages stemming from unspecified injuries they say they received from the accident, which occurred in 2006.