City planner asks school board to support 10-year extension of Renaissance Zone

Kent Jersic, a city planning representative, asked the school board for a letter of support for a city application to extend the local Renaissance Zone program for 10 years to August 2036, saying the state-authorized program uses tax exemptions to encourage rehabilitation of older commercial and residential buildings.

Jersic explained the extension request and the review process: the city’s Renaissance Zone committee will review projects, the school board and county must provide support, and the city commission will hold a public hearing (scheduled for July 28) before a formal application is submitted to the North Dakota Department of Commerce. Jersic cited recent state legislation ("Senate bill 23 91") that allows a 10-year exemption option and described eligibility thresholds (5-year exemption requires a minimum 50% improvement; 8-year exemption requires 75%).

Jersic highlighted past and recent projects that have used the program as examples of reinvestment, including American State Bank, Legacy at Central Place, Cooks on Main and the Great Northern Events Center, and said the program has added roughly $1.77 million in building value and produced annual tax contributions in the low hundreds of thousands.

Board members asked process questions about map boundaries and next steps; Jersic said the board’s support tonight would be limited to endorsing the extension request and that map amendments would return for additional consideration later in the fall. The city will host a public hearing and then submit the state application if the local approvals proceed.

Next step: the city commission public hearing on July 28, then a formal application to the North Dakota Department of Commerce; the board’s recorded support will be part of the local approval package.