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Committee approves $250,000 for SIRS Basin accelerator, authorizes transfer to replenish magic fund
Summary
The Magic Fund committee approved a $250,000 award to the SIRS Basin Planning Council to capitalize a business accelerator revolving loan program and authorized a transfer to bring the matching bucket to $1,000,000 so the request could be funded.
The Magic Fund committee on Wednesday approved a $250,000 award to the SIRS Basin Planning Council to support a business accelerator fund that acts as the community match for Bank of North Dakota PACE and Flex PACE loans.
The approval included authorization to transfer money into the magic fund matching bucket so the full request could be funded. Mark, a representative of the Minot Area Chamber EDC that reviews and recommends applications under the Chamber’s contract, told the committee the chamber recommended the full $250,000 request.
"We're requesting $250,000 for our business accelerator fund, which acts as a community match for the Bank of North Dakota's PACE and Flex PACE programs," Erin Charlie, organizational development and program manager with SIRS Basin Planning Council, said in the presentation. Charlie told the committee the program launched in 2019 and has helped 81 new or expanding businesses, 74 of them in Minot, and that the program has leveraged roughly $105 million in additional investment across the region.
Finance staff cautioned the committee that the magic fund’s capitalization rules limit funding for revolving loan funds to 25% of the available balance in that bucket and that a transfer would be needed to replenish the matching bucket to the $1,000,000 level required for the award to proceed. "Because that bucket isn't maxed out at $1,000,000 dollars to accommodate this request, we'd have to authorize the transfer to replenish that up to $1,000,000 dollars," the staff member said.
After brief questions about repayment and balloon payments, during which Charlie said there were no current concerns and that recent buy-down periods have been three years, a member moved to approve the application and the necessary transfer. The motion was seconded and passed on a roll call with Perrin, Heland, Tarnas and Nelson recorded as voting in favor.
The committee packet included projected payoff schedules and supporting documents for the program; Charlie told members she projects the fund will be self-sustaining as scheduled by about 2028. The committee did not attach additional conditions beyond the transfer authorization and the usual agreement and reporting expectations.
The committee moved on to consider a separate Minot State University request after the vote.
