Wonderland plans to begin payment of overdue taxes

REVERE – The License Commission is delaying a vote on revoking Wonderland Greyhound Park’s liquor and other licenses as long as track management honors its plan to pay off overdue taxes.Wonderland President Richard Dalton said the plan provides for the track to initially pay $175,000 toward an $800,000 overdue property tax and water charge bill and then pay $5,000 a month to erase the debt.”We hope to improve on that,” Dalton said Friday.The commission met Wednesday to review the status of Wonderland’s liquor, common vacuole’s, entertainment and parking licenses.The track owes $789,293 in overdue property taxes dating back two years and $16,673 in overdue water and sewer bills. In a bid to collect the money, the city placed a lien on the track’s North Shore Road property in June 2007.That process eventually leads to state Land Court where a ruling could result in the city taking possession of the track site, worth an estimated $15 million to $20 million.Mayor Thomas Ambrosino earlier this month said the chances of a tax taking by the city are extremely unlikely.”Eventually our taxes our going to be paid,” Ambrosino said.The Aug. 12 merger between Wonderland and Suffolk could provide financial relief for the dog track in the form of money to pay off the overdue taxes.Dalton previously noted that the track in past years provided the city with a cash infusion during tough times by agreeing to pay taxes before the bills were due.But Wonderland has also faced foreclosure, most recently in 2004 when Anzuoni locked a stack of the track’s stock certificates in a safe until the track paid its bills.For Wonderland, being in tax arrears is just another development in a time of economic uncertainty.The track employs 350 workers including many Revere residents. Its bid to get legislative approval to host slot machines has fallen short despite claims of a revenue bonanza for the city and the state.A bid by animal protection advocates to ban dog racing and effectively shutter Wonderland is on the November election ballot.