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ATTORNEY FOR PETITIONER: TIMOTHY J. VRANA ATTORNEY AT LAW Columbus, IN

ATTORNEYS FOR RESPONDENT: STEVE CARTER ATTORNEY GENERAL OF INDIANA MICHAEL C. DART DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL Indianapolis, IN ______________________________________________________________________

IN THE INDIANA TAX COURT
MELVIN LONOWSKI, ) ) Petitioner, ) v. ) ) Cause No. 49T10-0203-TA-37 CHARLESTOWN TOWNSHIP ) ASSESSOR, ) ) Respondent. ) ______________________________________________________________________ ON APPEAL FROM A FINAL DETERMINATION OF THE INDIANA BOARD OF TAX REVIEW NOT FOR PUBLICATION July 14, 2005 FISHER, J. The Petitioner, Melvin Lonowski (Lonowski), appeals a final determination of the Indiana Board of Tax Review (Indiana Board) assessing his commercial property as of the March 1, 1996 assessment date. The issues before this Court are: I. Whether the Indiana Board erred in failing to consider actual construction costs in assessing Lonowski's property; II. Whether the Indiana Board erred in failing to provide an adjustment for the lack of interior finish of Lonowski's improvement.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY Lonowski owns a retail hardware and farm store in Clark County, Indiana. The improvement was constructed in 1983 at a cost of $183,896. For the 1996 assessment date, Clark County assessing officials assigned Lonowski's improvement a reproduction cost of $446,220. In arriving at that value, Lonowski's improvement was priced under the General Commercial Mercantile (GCM) schedule. Believing this value to be too high, Lonowski filed a Form 131 Petition for Review of Assessment with the State Board of Tax Commissioners (State Board), alleging among other things, that the improvement should have been valued under the General Commercial Kit (GCK) schedule, and that it was entitled to an adjustment to account for the fact that the building's interior was unfinished. 1 In support of his GCK pricing claim, Lonowski offered a reproduction cost of $178,305 using a Marshall Swift calculation. The State Board held a hearing on the petition on March 14, 2000. The Indiana Board issued a final determination on February 8, 2002. 2 In its final determination, the Indiana Board granted Lonowski's request that the subject improvement be priced from the GCK schedule, but declined to provide a negative adjustment for the improvement's Lonowski initially presented nine issues for review when he filed his Form 131 Petition for Review. He subsequently withdrew six of those issues during the State Board hearing. One other issue that of interior partitioning, was never presented to this Court on appeal. On December 31, 2001, the legislature abolished the State Board of Tax Commissioners (State Board). 2001 Ind. Acts 198

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