Port to pay past due Stinger property taxes, penalities, interest

The Lincoln County Port Authority Board agreed last week to pay off hundreds of thousands of dollars in taxes, penalties and interest that have accrued since 2012 on the Stinger Welding property.

The $388,398.58 bill, computed as of April 13, includes $295,139.71 in past due property taxes, $5,490.70 in penalties and $87,768.17 in interest.

The board approved the payment at its April 17 meeting in a 4-1 vote.

The Port Authority agreed to take responsibility for the tab early last November, following about six months of outside-of-court mediation with Fisher Industries, which owns the building and the land it sits on and agreed to pay state and federal tax liens.

On Monday morning, the former Stinger Welding property was still listed for sale at $3,415,000 on Fisher Industries’ website. According to its agreement with the Port Authority, Fisher Industries will receive the first $750,000 of the sale price and 65 percent of the remaining balance.

At the April 17 and previous meetings, it was noted that the Lincoln County Commission has the authority to waive property taxes that are five years old or older. In the Stinger Welding property’s case, that could mean waiving the 2012 tax bill of $92,062.25. However, the commissioners have generally been opposed to waiving any amount.

The Port Authority Board is comprised of the three Lincoln County commissioners — Mark Peck, Jerry Bennett and Mike Cole — and county residents Ted Werner and Tony Petrusha.

The payment decision comes about two months after the Commission agreed to pay $141,586.20 to close a grant awarded years ago to Stinger Welding that failed to create the jobs it was contingent on, despite an expansion of its guidelines and seven extensions.

The Commission authorized that payment at its Feb. 21 meeting.