Aug. 31—As a lawsuit attempting to dissolve a limited liability corporation controlling Ghost Town in the Sky heads to business court, two other issues have cropped up in the estate of Alaska Presley, the corporation's late co-owner.

One issue is a bill for a real estate commission on a property transfer, and the second is a payment request for a $215,000 on a mortgage for 3.5 acres known as the Ghost Town parking lot, a 2014 purchase from Lynn Setzer.

In March 2020, property belonging to Lula Corporation that included 250 acres atop Buck Mountain and the buildings that were part of the long-closed Ghost Town theme park was transferred to a newly formed corporation, Ghost Town in the Sky, LLC.

When the property was transferred, developer Frankie Wood was named managing partner, with profits and losses to be split between Presley and Wood. Upon Presley's death this April, her niece Jill McClure was to succeed her interests, rights and duties in the corporation.

Ghost Town in the Sky LLC is not only insolvent, McClure's lawsuit contends, but Wood is denying her access to all corporation properties, has given no timeline for developing the property and she has been forced to pay bills for ongoing expenses.

Wood has retained Waynesville attorney Rusty McLean to represent him in the lawsuit, and McLean's motion to transfer the case to a specialty court dealing with complex business matters has been granted. Should the matter require a jury trial, however, it would be held in Haywood.

McLean is also representing Maggie Valley real estate broker Linda Taylor with 2020 Mountain Realty LLC, who is seeking an $80,000 real estate commission settlement from the Presley estate.

Taylor introduced Presley and Wood and has been a vocal advocate for Wood as he has faced sometimes contentious public hearings when requesting annexation or zoning changes to develop properties in Maggie Valley.

No real estate taxes paid

When the Ghost Town holdings were moved from one corporation to another, Rogers noted no excise taxes were paid on the property — holdings that Presley had listed for $6 million prior to Wood's involvement.

Real estate excise tax in North Carolina is an assessment on the sale of real property. All sales of real property in the state are subject to the tax unless a specific exemption is claimed. The rate is $2 for every $1,000 of the sales price on deed transfers.

"There was zero excise tax on that deed," recalls Sherri Rogers, the Haywood County Register of Deeds, whose office is charged with collecting the excise tax. "That meant, in my mind, there was no money or consideration exchanged in the transaction."

Real estate commissions are generally paid when property changes hands. Taylor's commission bill submission two year after the property transfer suggests the issue wasn't settled when holdings were switched from one corporation to another.

The Mountaineer attempted to reach Taylor to ask about the claim, but didn't not receive a call back by press time.