May 03--NASHUA -- The battle over the exact worth of the iconic Radisson Hotel Nashua isn't over yet.

Mayor Donnalee Lozeau said Thursday city attorneys are going to appeal a court ruling that the city had taxed the Tara Boulevard property at about double its true value. Motions to appeal the case to the state Supreme Court are due May 8.

"We don't agree with the decision that was made, and we think it's very important to make sure we exhaust all the remedies available to us," Lozeau said. "It's in (residents') best interest that everybody pays their fair share too."

Hillsborough Superior Court Judge Jacalyn Colburn ruled in favor of the hotel and its owner, AFP 105 Corp., saying the city had assessed the hotel at far more than its real value of about $4.9 million to $6.7 million between 2009-2011, as a Bedford assessor rated it.

The decision means the city will have to cut the hotel an $800,000 tax refund check if the Supreme Court appeal is unsuccessful.

So far, the city's spent about $16,000 on legal fees for the Radisson abatement case, Lozeau said.

Lozeau said it's unusual for the city to lose a case for tax abatement of this size.

"I don't recall the city not prevailing on a case of this magnitude before," she said. "For the most part, the city is right on the money."

Attorneys for the city defended its assessment of the hotel as fair market value. In 2010, the city assessed the hotel at $10.7 million for the building and $5.4 million for the land, for a total assessment of $16.1 million. A year later, in 2011, the hotel was assessed slightly lower at $10.6 million, while the value for the land remained the same.

The hotel owners paid $319,682.43 in taxes in 2009, $329,037.72 in 2010, and $335,798.90 in 2011, according to city tax records.

AFP's assessor, Wesley Reeks, of Bedford, placed the fair market value for the total property far lower, at $6.7 million for 2009, $4.9 million in 2010, and $5.8 million in 2011.

Before considering the upcoming appeal, city attorneys petitioned Hillsborough County Superior Court to reconsider its ruling, arguing that Colburn interrupted the testimony of AFP's assessor three times to explain that she "had extensive professional experience as a real estate broker before her career commenced as an attorney and as a judge," according to court documents.

Colburn's statement "impressed upon the parties and the witnesses that she was not a layperson without experience in appraisal and evaluation matters," the city argued.

The comment seemed to indicate that the assessor's "expert testimony on his valuation methodologies was not necessary," according to the motion.

Joseph G. Cote can be reached at 594-6415 or jcote@nashua telegraph.com. Also, follow Cote on Twitter (@Telegraph_JoeC).

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