Court: Arts center must be tax exempt Rules Holmdel is owed only for banquet hall BY KAREN E. BOWES Staff Writer A state Supreme Court ruling issued April 4 states the PNC Bank Arts Center owes Holmdel a decade's worth of back taxes, but only for a small portion of the facility. Only the Robert B. Meyner Reception Center, a banquet hall that seats 350 guests, is eligible for taxation, according to the ruling, the latest in a series of battles over the tax-exempt status of the concert venue. Owned by the N.J. Turnpike Authority, the arts center was originally approved in 1965 as a "highway project," intended to attract toll-paying motorists to the Garden State Parkway during off-peak hours, the decision noted. This qualifies the original amphitheater as tax exempt. But the Meyner Reception Center, built in 1989 at a cost of $6.4 million, was determined never to have been a part of the original highway project and is therefore subject to taxation. "In 1988, the Senate's Special Investigation Committee concluded that the authority had exceeded its power in constructing the reception center," according to a syllabus summarizing the court's ruling. "The reception center was an unexpected project without any reasonable nexus to the arts center's original purposes." "I'm glad that we at least recovered some tax ratable," DiMaso said. "I'm disappointed that we didn't get the whole piece of the pie, but I suppose a part of the pie is better than none. Now we'll just wait to see how big that piece will be." The mayor said she is unsure exactly how much the town can expect in actual money. She said that no matter how much it is, though, the money will be returned to taxpayers. "It's not enough to be a tax refund," DiMaso said. "But maybe some sort of tax moratorium, to be divided up between taxpayers." Committeeman Terence Wall is not so optimistic, calling the ruling "a loser for Holmdel." On Friday, Wall and his running mate for Township Committee, Jerry Allocco, released a statement suggesting the arts center attach a fee to the price of each concert ticket, the proceeds of which would benefit Holmdel. "Currently Holmdel receives zero compensation from all the profits generated at the PNC Bank Arts Center," the statement reads. "Yet Holmdel's taxpayer funded services are required to be at the ready for the negative impacts caused by the concerts." New Jersey Turnpike Authority spokesman Joseph Orlando said they will not appeal the decision. "We're satisfied with the result," he said Monday. Orlando explained that the case itself is actually older then the New Jersey Turnpike Authority's ownership of the facility. The previous owner, the Highway Authority, was merged into the Turnpike Authority in 2003. "It's a case we inherited," Orlando said. "Now that its resolved, we really don't have any dissatisfaction with it." "The case is over," Orlando said. "Everyone will move on." The two parties must now agree to the assessed value of the Meyner Reception Center. If this cannot be done out of court, a judge must make a ruling, DiMaso said, noting she hopes the latter will not be the case. "That [will] cost the taxpayers money as well," DiMaso said. Overall, DiMaso said she's pleased the case is finally nearing an end. "Quite honestly, I'm glad we got something. A little bit of something is better than a whole lot of nothing," she said.