Committee recommends approval of Gate City Bank program for home improvements – Jamestown Sun

JAMESTOWN — The Jamestown Finance and Legal Committee unanimously recommended approval on Monday, June 19, to allow the city of Jamestown to partner with Gate City Bank to offer a program that provides low-interest loans for improvements of owner-occupied single-family homes. 

With Jamestown City Council approval in July, the Gate City Bank Neighborhood Revitalization Program would have no cost to the city. The city’s zoning administrator would be authorized to adjust the parameters of the program if needed. 

City Administrator Sarah Hellekson said the low-interest loans would be around 3% to 3.5%. The minimum loan would be $10,000 and the maximum is $100,000, according to an application for the program. 

The city of Jamestown will set the parameters of the program, including a limit on the value of a home and what type of projects the loans can be used for, Hellekson said. 

If approved, the property requirements for use of the loan include: 

• Homes that are at least 30 years old. 
• Homes must be located within the city of Jamestown. 
• The property must be zoned for residential use. 
• The home must be outside of a 100-year floodplain. 
• The current assessed property value is not more than $325,000. 
• Owner-occupied one- to two-unit single-family homes. 
• The homeowner must be current on property taxes and special assessments. 

Ineligible property types include a duplex, condominium, mobile home, three-plex, townhome and rental property. The rental property would be eligible for the program if it is being converted to an owner-occupied single-family home.
According to the application, the project must include at least one of the following:

• Foundation work.
•  Siding, roofing, windows or other major exterior upgrades. 
• An addition of a bedroom or new living space. 
• Major interior remodeling. 
• Replacement of major mechanical systems such as a furnace, electrical system or plumbing. 
• Converting a rental unit to an owner-occupied single-family residence. 

Tom Blackmore, zoning administrator, said the assessed property value was set to no more than $325,000 because of the rising values of property. 
“The city of Jamestown has seen gradual rises in their values over the last few years,” he said. “Some property still hasn’t been updated so I thought we’d try and open it up and let the citizens make use of it if they are able to.”

In other business, the Finance and Legal Committee unanimously recommended approval of a purchase agreement for outlot A in the Southwest Second Addition. Mayor Dwaine Heinrich and the city administrator would be authorized to sign the agreement with City Council approval.

The sale is for the city of Jamestown to purchase Jamestown Southwest Second Addition outlot A from the Corell family in the amount of $445,000 plus closing costs and unpaid special assessments of approximately $29,000. The 3.5-acre property is east of the new Anne Carlsen Center campus and will be paid from the city sales tax fund. 

The description of outlot A says it is not a building lot and is reserved from all private development, occupation and use, and no building permit can be issued for a private structure on the outlot unless the subdivision is replatted.

An outlot is a parcel of land that is commonly used by a city for the city’s interest and not for the construction of a building.

The city of Jamestown has been working to get the North Dakota Department of Transportation to agree to construct a new overpass near the location of outlot A. The new overpass would hopefully replace the existing one at exit 257 and include at least a westbound on-ramp and an eastbound off-ramp, Heinrich said previously. 

The Finance and Legal Committee unanimously sent a request to the City Council without recommendation for a Class C liquor license at 107 1st Ave S. 

If the request is approved by the City Council, the liquor license would be contingent on the business receiving a certificate of occupancy from the city of Jamestown inspections department. The liquor license would expire on June 30, 2024.

The request is from Matt McPherson, who is doing business as Badlands Mercantile. He said the plan is to turn the building at 107 1st Ave. S into a bar. It currently houses Junk in the Trunk.

City Councilman David Steele asked McPherson if he has considered any other uses for the building besides a bar. 

“I look at our First Avenue and look at the number of establishments that we have there already and I don’t know to have another one is in the best interest of the city right now,” he said. 

McPherson said he is looking at making improvements to the building and utilizing the space better. 

Masaki Ova joined The Jamestown Sun in August 2021 as a reporter. He grew up on a farm near Pingree, N.D. He majored in communications at the University of Jamestown, N.D.