Northampton Area School District officials have approved resolutions that may increase tax revenue for the district and help clear the road for a major proposed warehouse in the district.

At the July 15 meeting, NASD Board of Education voted unanimously 9-0, under the policy portion of the agenda, to approve two measures relating to the appeal of assessments in the district.

The school directors’ vote approved Policy 628, which “sets forth the right of the school district to appeal any assessment within its jurisdiction in the same manner, subject to the same procedure and with like effect, as if the appeal were taken by a taxable person with respect to the assessment of that person’s property.”

The vote also approved a policy that pertains to “suspension of the procedure set forth in board Policy 003 that requires a review of a proposed new policy at a board workshop or regular board meeting prior to adoption of the policy at a subsequent board meeting; and in lieu of such procedure, approve the adoption of proposed Policy 628 under a separate motion and based upon the review of the proposed Policy 628 by the Policy Review Committee at its meeting July 11, 2019, as well as the board’s review of the proposed policy at the same meeting in which the board votes on the policy’s adoption. This suspension of the procedures for policy review shall remain in effect only for the board meeting on July 15, 2019.”

School Director Roy Maranki made the motion, seconded by school Director Dr. Michael Baird, for a vote on the policies.

In a related matter at the July 15 meeting, school directors voted 9-0 to approve, under the finances portion of the agenda, terms of engagement (the agreement) entered into between Keystone Realty Advisors LLC (the consultant) and NASD (the client) for a term commencing from July 8, 2019, to Aug. 1, 2022, under which the consultant shall provide, for the fees set forth in the agreement and subject to the terms and conditions set forth in the agreement, an ongoing review of the property tax assessment of real estate parcels located in the school district with the intent of identifying properties, which may warrant review by the school district and its attorney for consideration of a school district-initiated tax appeal (reverse appeal).

The vote also approves an attorney engagement letter (the agreement) entered into by and between Atty. C. Steven Miller, school district solicitor, Atty. Raymond P. Wendolowski of Fellerman & Ciarimboli PC (the attorneys) and NASD (the client) for the purpose of filing and representing the school district for tax assessment appeals (commonly called reverse appeals) and for other tax assessment-related matters.

Baird made the motion, seconded by Maranki, for a vote on the finances matters. The process would be at least twofold.

The implication of the policy and finance approvals by the NASD school board is the district is authorizing its legal representatives to appeal real estate assessments.

Some NASD officials and school directors have voiced concern at school board meetings that tax revenue received from a warehouse distribution center in the district is less than had been anticipated. School officials reason what they perceive as lower tax revenues is because the assessment by Northampton County on which the tax is based is from an outdated assessment.

The policy and finances votes would allow Keystone Realty Advisors LLC to review property tax assessments in the district, and, should a higher assessment be determined, then the district’s legal representatives could file an assessment appeal.

After the July 15 school board meeting, the NASD solicitor gave a brief explanation of the votes.

“The school district intends to take assessment appeals on those properties the school district believes to be substantially underassessed,” Miller said.

Miller indicated the district would pursue an appeal only if a threshold amount of revenue to the district would be realized. While NASD has no specific plans to appeal an assessment, school board approval of the policy and finances measures gives the district the option to do so.

In an unrelated matter, but one that pertains to warehouse development in the district, school directors voted 7-2 at the June 24 board meeting to authorize, under the facilities portion of the agenda, for board President David Gogel to sign the indemnification, traffic signal maintenance and stormwater management facilities operations and maintenance agreement to be entered into by East Allen Township, JW Development Partners (Jaindl-Watson) and NASD. The agreement, in part, includes provisions that address the obligation of JW Development to perform construction of the realignment of Seemsville Road, which will intersect Route 329 at a new location; the construction and maintenance of the stormwater collection facilities located within the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation right of way; and the installation and maintenance of the traffic signal to control traffic at the relocated intersection of Seemsville Road and Route 329.

In addition, the agreement, in part, includes provisions that make the school district secondarily liable to the township in the event JW Development fails to perform its obligations for maintaining the stormwater facilities located within the PennDOT right of way or the traffic signal installed at the relocated intersection of Seemsville Road and Route 329. If the school district is required to assume secondary liability, the agreement provides for a right to the school district to have indemnification from JW Development.

School Director Chuck Longacre and school Director James Chuss voted against the agreement between the district and East Allen Township and JW Development.

JW Development would place six buildings of 2.4 million square feet of warehouses on 294 acres, zoned for industrial-commercial, in Allen Township. NASD and JW Development Partners previously agreed on an easement and/or conveyance of 13.09 acres of the district’s 92.32-acre Seemsville tract.

Seemsville Road, to curve at a new terminus with a traffic light at Route 329, is to be relocated 650 feet east of its present location. A water retention pond would be built on land roughly between the new road and where Seemsville Road is now. A water line would be 140 feet from the Seemsville tract rather than its present location, which is 2,000 to 3,000 feet away. Improvements are to be made to sewage services.