By CRISTINA JANNEY

Hays Post

The Hays school board unanimously approved the City of Hays’ revised Neighborhood Revitalization Program Monday.

The City of Hays sought to increase the area of the Neighborhood Revitalization Program. The previous program encompassed about 200 acres.

The amended program would include 1,628 acres, which is the boundary of the build out in Hays in 1965.

The appraised value of proposed area is $644,777,390.

The proposed area reflects an area that encompasses buildings that are 50 years old and older.

The goals of the program are to improve commercial property and promote owner-occupied housing and purpose-built multi-family housing in an area where single-family houses are already transitioning to single-family rental housing.

The program would allow a residential or commercial owner to rebate 65 percent of the increased property tax from improvements.

 

Superintendent John Thissen said the program should benefit the school district in the long run.

“Anybody who thinks it will have a negative connotation or effect on the schools, they are really stretching. It may in the short term, but in the long term, even in seven to ten years, it way outweighs being supportive of this,” Thissen said.

Forty-five properties have benefitted from the Neighborhood Revitalization Plan since its establishment.  The previous program resulted in about $500,000 increase in property value.

The school board had to approve the plan because it would have to give up taxes on the increases in the values of properties in the program. It would not decrease the amount of tax the school district is receiving now.

Some of the projects that have been done with the previous program include Gella’s Diner, Salon 1007, and the apartments at 100 E. Fifth.

The city and county have already approved the program, so the program can now be implemented.