Property values rise in Silver Bay, Silver Creek

• Assisted Living Facility

Construction has begun for the Spectrum assisted living facility on Banks Boulevard in Silver Bay. Matt Suoja

Talk about it

Property value assessments went up an average of 10 percent in Silver Bay October 2008 to September 2009.

At the Silver Bay City Council meeting Monday, county assessor Matt Miller explained to a packed house concerned about rising property taxes that homes in the area sold for more than their original assessed price during that time frame. Those sales figures do not include foreclosures. The average home value in Silver Bay is $101,000.

Miller said city property owners could have received a 20-percent increase in value on homes but decided not to because sales could plateau.

The assessments went up on all commercial properties in Silver Bay except the AmericInn. Miller said that property has historically received reductions from the county board of equalization.

“Our office didn’t feel a 10-percent increase was warranted on that property,” Miller said. He said the reason it may receive a reduction is because it’s an isolated property on the lake.

With a rise in property value, property taxes could go up. Miller said it’s all dependent on how much money the county needs to spend but higher values don’t necessarily mean a property tax rise.

Taxes are also now based on estimated property value, rather than taxable market value, which could mean your taxes would go up because more is being taxed.

The levy set in Silver Bay at the end of 2009 was up 9.4 percent. At the end of 2009 the county board approved a levy that mirrors last year’s, meaning no increase in county taxes as a whole.

Property value assessments were actually decreased one percent in Two Harbors, while they were lowered five percent in Fall Lake. In Silver Creek, they went up 15 percent, while the city of Beaver Bay saw no change.

Eco-park

The Silver Bay City Council passed resolutions to work with Free Renewable Energy Enterprises, Round River Renewables, and Cedar Tree Enterprises to work on the planning and design of a possible bio-energy facility at the proposed eco-park.

Money used for this step would be covered by the $298,870 in seed money the city received from the state Legislature in April. The bio-energy facility could be used for fish production as well as producing algae for biodiesel fuel.

Assisted living

Things are moving along on the construction the Spectrum health facility on Banks Boulevard. The project had its groundbreaking ceremony a few weeks ago and so much interest has been shown that Spectrum is looking at adding an additional six units. The building originally was going to have between 16 and 24 units. The facility could create at least seven full-time jobs.

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