MARS HILL – Starting in 2007 Big Rock is going tax exempt.

The ski area, established in the 1960s and purchased in 2000 by the nonprofit Maine Winter Sports Center, recently submitted an amended tax exemption request to the Mars Hill Town Council. During its meeting last week, the council approved the request, which calls for Big Rock to stop paying taxes in Mars Hill as of 2007.

“The town fathers had two choices,” Town Manager Ray Mersereau said Monday. “They could fight it or grant it. If they fought it, there was no guarantee they could win.”

Besides, Mersereau said, sports center officials presented a strong case that they should be considered charitable and benevolent; they submitted a booklet about an inch thick explaining what they do and why they should be granted the status.

Big Rock has been paying about $25,000 annually in taxes to the town of Mars Hill, but with two tough winters in a row, officials with the nonprofit recently requested tax exempt status to begin in 2005.

Town officials knew that such a move would hurt the small community of 1,480 – the council would have to raise taxes by about half a mill this year to meet the shortfall.

They also knew the change wouldn’t hurt as badly if both sides agreed to wait until 2007 when the town expects to begin picking up $500,000 annually in taxes from Evergreen Wind Power LLC, wind farm developers with a project on Mars Hill Mountain.

Big Rock and the town were able to work out an agreement and sports center officials subsequently submitted an amended tax exemption request that gave a 2007 start date. The Town Council voted last week to grant the center its request starting next year.

“We will lose it [taxes from Big Rock] in 2007, but it won’t be a dramatic thing to the town’s mill rate,” Mersereau said. “We expect to be able to lower the mill rate in 2007 because of the tax revenues from the wind farm.”

In other news, the council learned that Mars Hill received a $60,085 Community Development Block Grant in order to beautify the area around the new Hiram Adelman Memorial Fire Station on Market Street.

The town was invited into the second phase of the process to receive the community enterprise grant.

Mersereau said town officials have to complete an environmental review, which takes at least 60 days, before project construction can begin. He expected that by the first of July, the town should be able to access funding and start construction.

Town officials plan to tear down two old potato houses near the fire station, completely grade and seed the property. Plans also include new trees, rocks and a lawn in front of the station, as well as the possibility of a walking path around the building.

“This will be another step up for the area,” Mersereau said.

Town officials haven’t determined yet how everything will look, but Mersereau said that knowing the money is secured means they have one less thing to worry about.

“We were extremely pleased to be awarded this grant,” the town manager said. “I think we can pull this project off without going into local funding.”