Wonderland situation a challenge for Revere

REVERE – The city is trying to keep its hands on $665,000 it receives annually from rental car surcharges even as it moves to collect nearly $800,000 officials say is owed by Wonderland Greyhound Park.Wonderland President Richard Dalton Thursday said lawyers for the track and the city are negotiating payment of $789,293 in overdue property taxes owed by the track. Another $16,673 in water bills are also overdue, prompting the city to place a lien 13 months ago on the track’s $20 million worth of local property.”We have begun negotiations with the city. We expect to have the situation resolved. I can assure you there won’t be a foreclosure,” Dalton said.This is not the first time the track has faced foreclosure. Similar proceedings in 1994 over $1.6 million in overdue taxes prompted city Treasurer George Anzuoni to negotiate an arrangement for the city to hold stock owned by Wonderland until the taxes were paid.”It was collateral. I never had to sell it,” he said.Dalton said Wonderland “has a very good relationship with the city” that included past arrangements involving tax payments by the track in advance of payment deadlines. He said the early payment arrangements were negotiated to assist the city during tough financial times.Sizeable as it is, the track’s debt is overshadowed by the potential loss of revenue the city realizes from rental car lots located in Revere bordering Logan Airport.City Clerk John Henry alerted councilors in a memo this week that the Massachusetts Port Authority is making plans to centralize car rentals in Logan Airport. The plan could potentially relocate eight rental companies from Revere into Logan.”Depending upon the site permitting and the construction timeframe for the new consolidated rental car facility most, if not all, of the rental surcharge revenue that the city has been receiving may be lost in the near future,” Henry warned in the memo.The city currently has $1.64 million in the surcharge fund. The city uses the money to pay borrowing costs associated with building the new Parkway police and fire stations.Mayor Thomas Ambrosino called Henry’s letter “a heads up that revenue numbers won’t stay steady.”Massport spokesman Matthew Brelis said the consolidated facility will not be built until 2012 at the earliest. The consolidation is aimed at reducing air pollution by centralizing rental facilities at one location with a shuttle bus transporting passengers between the facility and airline terminals.