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Record of Proceedings

Valdez City Council BOE Prehearing Conference – June 25, 2025

Meeting Portal — Wednesday, June 25, 2025
BodyValdez, Alaska
SessionMeeting Portal
DateWednesday, June 25, 2025
StatusFILED
Video Record
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Transcript — Verbatim
1:01

Hi there.

1:01

This is uh Austin Loves, just Mayor Pro Tem, just checking in.

1:04

We're seeing people come in through the uh teams meeting.

1:08

We just do um a roll call just on who's on the team's line, starting with uh I think it's Mr.

1:14

Mahoney there, and just your name and who you're affiliated with.

1:19

Mr.

1:20

Chairman, my name is Steve Mahoney.

1:22

I am with the law firm of Manley, Brothigum, and Bankston.

1:26

We represent the Alaska Ventures Corporation.

1:31

Uh I'm sorry, LLC, which is the property owner um uh subject to this scheduling.

1:38

Great, thank you, Mr.

1:39

Mahoney.

1:40

And then can we go on to uh Mr.

1:42

Youngman?

1:55

We'll go on to uh is it Mrs.

1:57

Kamai?

1:59

Ms.

1:59

Kamay, Mela Yes, I'm Janela Kamai.

2:04

I'm with Mr.

2:05

Mahoney today, representing the taxpayer.

2:09

Thank you very much.

2:10

And then uh Scott Carson.

2:14

Hi, my name's Carson Scott, uh with the law firm Munger Tolls and Olson also representing the taxpayer.

2:21

Uh my apologies, uh Mr.

2:23

Scott, thank you.

2:25

And then uh Ms.

2:28

Evans.

2:33

Marie Evans.

2:38

Hi, yeah, it's Marie Evans, Tax Counsel with Conico Phillips.

2:43

Great, thank you, Miss Evans.

2:45

And then uh we never heard in from uh Greg Youngman.

2:59

Greg is um this is Murray again.

3:01

I will speak for Greg.

3:02

Greg is Alaska General Counsel.

3:06

Okay, thank you very much, Ms.

3:08

Evans.

3:09

No problem.

3:11

Then and then we also have uh Robin Brenner.

3:14

Robin.

3:16

Yes, uh good evening, and Jack Wakeland is here with me.

3:22

Thanks, Robin.

3:29

So we are still waiting uh for the assessor to sign on, so we're just gonna um sit tight for a minute until we see them because they're supposed to be also joining the uh uh the teams meeting here.

3:43

So uh we'll give him a few more minutes there.

3:46

Yeah, he's in the process, uh, Mr.

3:48

Chairman.

3:48

He's in the process of trying to log on.

3:51

Great.

3:52

Thank you, Mr.

3:53

Brenner.

4:19

Oh, it just keeps going through.

4:20

Here we go.

4:21

I think I'm in now.

4:25

Is that uh Mr.

4:27

Marty McGee there that just signed on?

4:29

Yes.

4:30

I am all right.

4:32

And Marty, could you describe who you're uh representing?

4:36

Uh City of Valdez, um, contract assessor, Alaska Assessment Assistance.

4:47

Thank you, Mr.

4:48

McGee.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Pending Litigation█████████████████████████████████████████████71%
Legal███████████18%
Procedural███████11%
Summary of Proceedings

Valdez City Council BOE Prehearing Conference – June 25, 2025

On June 25, 2025, the City of Valdez City Council, sitting as the Board of Equalization (BOE), held a prehearing conference to set procedures for the property tax appeal of Alaska Ventures LLC. The meeting addressed the scope of the appeal, scheduling, discovery parameters, and time allotments for the hearing. Both the appellant (Alaska Ventures) and the city assessor’s legal team participated via teleconference. No final procedural schedule was issued at the meeting; the board will deliberate and release a schedule later.

Discussion Items

  • Scope of Appeals: The appellant, through attorney Steve Mahoney, confirmed that Alaska Ventures elects not to proceed with its taxability appeal before the BOE, opting instead to pursue that issue in superior court. The board thus limited the BOE hearing to the valuation question. However, the assessor’s attorney, Robin Brenner, cautioned that the scope could expand if the superior court refers factual issues back to the board.

  • Hearing Scheduling: The board proposed a tentative hearing date of August 20, 2025. Both parties agreed to this date and indicated that participation via Teams (remote) would be acceptable, with the appellant noting that out-of-state witnesses may appear remotely.

  • Discovery Procedures: The board presented two options: the baseline (10 interrogatories/10 requests for production, requests due 15 days before hearing, responses due 5 days before) or a modified schedule (requests due 40 days before, responses due 20 days before). Mr. Mahoney argued that discovery is generally inappropriate in an assessment appeal where the assessor’s valuation is presumed correct, and stated that the taxpayer may not respond to discovery requests. Mr. Brenner insisted that discovery should be permitted for both sides and that responses should be due within a fixed timeframe (e.g., 5–10 days from service) to avoid last-minute obstruction. Councilmember Devons suggested a 30-day response period, similar to civil court. The board took the matter under advisement.

  • Time Allotment for Presentations: The baseline is one hour per side for all presentations and rebuttals. Mr. Mahoney agreed to one hour, provided both sides receive equal time. Mr. Brenner requested a minimum of two hours per side, citing the complexity of the five large tugboats at issue and noting that the State Assessment Review Board (SARB) has allowed four to six hours in similar cases. The board will decide on the final time allocation.

  • Other Issues: Mr. Mahoney indicated that the taxpayer may file a motion by the following Monday regarding the appropriateness of discovery in this appeal. Mr. Brenner requested an equal opportunity to respond to any such motion. Both parties expressed willingness to follow the board’s rules.

Key Outcomes

  • The board tentatively set the hearing for August 20, 2025, with remote participation allowed.
  • The scope of the BOE hearing is limited to valuation unless the superior court decides otherwise.
  • No final decisions were made on discovery parameters or time allotments; the board will issue a procedural schedule after deliberation.
  • The appellant may file a discovery-related motion by June 30, 2025, and the assessor will be given time to respond.

Meeting Transcript

Hi there. This is uh Austin Loves, just Mayor Pro Tem, just checking in. We're seeing people come in through the uh teams meeting. We just do um a roll call just on who's on the team's line, starting with uh I think it's Mr. Mahoney there, and just your name and who you're affiliated with. Mr. Chairman, my name is Steve Mahoney. I am with the law firm of Manley, Brothigum, and Bankston. We represent the Alaska Ventures Corporation. Uh I'm sorry, LLC, which is the property owner um uh subject to this scheduling. Great, thank you, Mr. Mahoney. And then can we go on to uh Mr. Youngman? We'll go on to uh is it Mrs. Kamai? Ms. Kamay, Mela Yes, I'm Janela Kamai. I'm with Mr. Mahoney today, representing the taxpayer. Thank you very much. And then uh Scott Carson. Hi, my name's Carson Scott, uh with the law firm Munger Tolls and Olson also representing the taxpayer. Uh my apologies, uh Mr. Scott, thank you. And then uh Ms. Evans. Marie Evans. Hi, yeah, it's Marie Evans, Tax Counsel with Conico Phillips. Great, thank you, Miss Evans. And then uh we never heard in from uh Greg Youngman. Greg is um this is Murray again. I will speak for Greg. Greg is Alaska General Counsel. Okay, thank you very much, Ms. Evans. No problem. Then and then we also have uh Robin Brenner. Robin. Yes, uh good evening, and Jack Wakeland is here with me. Thanks, Robin. So we are still waiting uh for the assessor to sign on, so we're just gonna um sit tight for a minute until we see them because they're supposed to be also joining the uh uh the teams meeting here. So uh we'll give him a few more minutes there. Yeah, he's in the process, uh, Mr. Chairman. He's in the process of trying to log on. Great. Thank you, Mr. Brenner. Oh, it just keeps going through.

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