Jamestown Board Unanimously Approves Deobligation of Flex PACE Funds

The Jamestown/Stutsman Development Corp. Board of Directors voted unanimously on March 9 to deobligate Flex PACE funds across three program years, a decision that could return more than $675,000 combined to the City of Jamestown and Stutsman County if local governing bodies sign off.

The largest share involves the 2023 and 2024 program years. If the Jamestown City Council approves, the city will receive more than $434,000, a figure that JSDC business development director Alyssa Looysen noted had already been adjusted downward. The prior calculation had pegged the city's share at more than $461,000.

For 2025, approval from both the Jamestown City Council and the Stutsman County Commission would direct more than $241,000 to the city and over $60,000 to the county. Looysen said projects approved for Flex PACE funding in 2025 are not expected to be funded for some time, which drove the decision to return the money now rather than hold it.

JSDC CEO Corry Shevlin explained the reasoning plainly. "We sit on these big buckets of money. In an ideal world, we could continue to do that, but if we know we are not going to spend them within that program year, then we will send them back," Shevlin said. "We will take the max out of each of those programs."

The Flex PACE Program, administered through the Bank of North Dakota, functions as an interest buydown tool for economic development projects. The interest rate reduction can range from 5% down to as low as 1%. In Jamestown-Stutsman County, the local community match covers 30% of the total interest buydown, capped at $85,714. That community portion is structured as a loan from JSDC, repaid at 2% interest over four years after the underlying note matures.

The board also approved a separate but related action: accepting a return-on-equity payment from the Spiritwood Energy Park Association. Shevlin said the payment was triggered by a second tenant locating at the association's industrial park in Spiritwood, which activated a provision requiring return-on-equity distributions to partners. JSDC's share amounts to about 78% of a $292,500 total payment, or roughly $228,000.

Of that $228,000, 90% is slated for the City of Jamestown's sales tax fund and 10% for Stutsman County's economic development fund. If the City Council and County Commission both approve, the city would receive more than $205,000 and the county about $23,000.

Both the deobligation transfers and the Spiritwood return-on-equity distributions remain contingent on action by the two governing bodies. Neither the Jamestown City Council nor the Stutsman County Commission has yet scheduled a public vote on the items.