By BECKY KISER
Hays Post
The city of Hays will consider expanding its Neighborhood Revitalization Plan to include homes and businesses built in 1980 and earlier.
City staff has made the recommendation with the idea that the expansion would help aid redevelopment and reinvestment in those areas.
The Neighborhood Revitalization Plan provides tax rebates to property owners who make improvements that raise the appraised value of residential or commercial properties located within the designated area.
The area was most recently updated in 2017 to reflect the buildout of the city in 1965, an expansion that included properties approximately 50 years old.
"Now that several years have passed since then, the areas with aging properties throughout the city that are located outside the current NRP-eligible area have grown," said Jarrod Kuckelman, Hays management analyst. "An expansion that reflects the buildout of the city of Hays in 1980 could capture many of these residential and commercial properties that would potentially benefit from the NRP."
Current guidelines call for a minimum residential property investment of $25,000 that is then eligible for property tax rebates of 65% for 10 years. Commercial properties require a minimum investment of $50,000, which are eligible for rebates of 95% for 10 years.
According to information presented to the city commission by Kuckelman, 72 properties have benefited from the program since the 2017 expansion.
The proposed expanded area includes many residential and commercial areas in north Hays that were developed as part of the expansion of the city towards Interstate 70 in the 1970s and '80s, Kuckelman said.
This includes the area of North Vine, which is not eligible for tax increment financing and has many properties that could benefit from the use of revitalization plan. Also included are properties that are not quite 50 years old but will reach that age within the next five to 10 years.
"We're proposing this area because this could potentially preempt having to come back to you multiple times asking for expansions constantly," Kuckelman said.
Kuckelman pointed out several recent projects that have benefited from the current plan, including Club Liquor at 717 Vine and housing at 211 E. 17th.
By state statute a public hearing must first be held in order to amend the current plan document and expand the area.
A resolution must also be approved by the city, Ellis County, and Hays USD 489, which have been part of an interlocal agreement. It allows all three entities' share of the property taxes to be captured in the rebates.
"The NRP works as an incentive, as a rebate, not as an exemption... the city would not be giving up any existing tax revenues," Kuckelman said. "This would only be incremental increases given up to the rebate for 10 years."
Commissioners agreed to move forward with the plan.
"I think it's changes that make sense to help property owners revitalize their property," said Mason Ruder, commissioner. "Trying to make your house a better place to live is a great investment."
"Giving homeowners the opportunity to do $25,000 worth of work if they can't afford to move, makes total sense to me," agreed Sandy Jacobs, vice-mayor.
"We all want to grow, but it's actually cheaper for our community if we update instead of expanding out," said Mayor Shaun Musil.
City staff will meet with USD 489 and Ellis County to determine their support for the expansion.