County to broaden its participation in Neighborhood Revitalization Plan

The Bourbon County Commission has committed five years to a Neighborhood Revitalization plan.

According to minutes from the Sept. 17 commission meeting, Fort Scott Economic Development Director Dale Bunn made an appearance at Friday's meeting to discuss the Neighborhood revitalization plan. The county is currently a partner with the revitalization plan only as it pertains to the downtown area. This partnership commenced in 2005 after the downtown fire, the minutes said.

Commissioner Bill Brittain made a motion and the other commissioners voted in favor of the county joining in on the revitalization efforts in the city in addition to the downtown, Brittain said. He said that a program such as this one is beneficial to the community.

"This is a very positive program," he said.

Brittain said that the objective of this program is to build the community up from the inside.

"Don't let your community fall in from the inside," he said.

With the revitalization plan, Brittain said, the value of some nice homes is brought down because having a dilapidated house on the same block as a well-maintained home lowers its value, he said.

The plan offers a tax rebate to home owners who fix up dilapidated homes, Brittain said. With the plan, a home owner can receive a rebate of 90 percent of the increase in taxes on his or her home after the value has been increased due to home improvements. This still gives the city a five-percent increase in tax money, Brittain said.

According to Brittain, contractors can take advantage of the plan by purchasing a dilapidated home. After tearing the house down and building a new one, the contractor can sell the home while offering the tax rebate to the purchaser of the new home. This has happened in several places in town, Brittain said.

Local rental property owner John Hill bought an old house across from Frary Field, knocked them down and built duplexes. He is able to utilize the tax rebate by doing this and, most importantly, Brittain said, the neighborhood looks a lot better. Local property owners Steve Kibble, Darrell Winter and Mel Cummings also have utilized the revitalization plan, Brittain said.

Brittain said that if other Bourbon County cities would want to start revitalization plans, the county would help them. According to the minutes, Bunn offered his assistance to these other cities in starting the program in their communities.