Golf course may only get a few hundred of thousands paid under state law
The board of directors at Clarmond Country Club asked for a refund on property tax paid on land that is not owned by the club. The directors asked the Wright County Board of Supervisors Feb. 12 for a refund of $12,000.
Clarmond has been paying taxes on land north of the country club that was deemed “sovereign lake bed” in 2014. The discovery came after the land was surveyed in a separate property dispute. The Clarmond directors said they were never informed about the status of the three-acre plot.
The meeting included a discussion with officials from the Iowa Department of Natural Resources about the land. The DNR official said all uninhabitable land was deemed “sovereign lake bed” following a land survey in the 1800s after Iowa was granted statehood. Clarmond officials said the abstract they have is decades old, but never mentions how the land is owned by the state. Supervisor Dean Kluss stated, “The state has always considered that to be their land.” In addition, it is considered the duty of the landowner, not a taxing entity, to determine the status of any property.
When asked how the Clarmond board determined the amount of the refund requested, the supervisors were told it was amount paid in taxes since 1940 plus interest. Kluss said the county can only refund incorrectly paid property taxes for the past two years, according to state law. Tax records from the past two years show that Clarmond paid just over $208 on the property in 2021 and 2022. The supervisors said they would talk with the county attorney about the issue.
In other business, the board:
—approved a new bid document for brush control. The contract will now include proof of insurance and licenses, along with separate work orders for tree removal. A two-year bid for brush control will be let in March;
—and appointed Teresa Sadler to the Wright County Trails Committee.
Supervisor Kluss said he met with Sen. Dennis Guth and Rep. Mark Thompson last week during County Day at the state capitol Feb. 8. He also said he had a lunch meeting with Tim Whipple from Ahlers & Cooney about the Summit Carbon Solutions lawsuit. Whipple told Kuhlers he does not expect a decision from the Iowa Utilities Board on Summit’s request until April.
In addition, Kluss said several county officials met with the Farm Bureau to discuss the proposed county budget for the next fiscal year. The county officials were Kluss, Supervisor Rick Rasmussen, Auditor Betty Ellis and Engineer Adam Clemons.
