STURGIS, S.D. – The city of Sturgis has opened up discussion about some possible changes to the downtown BID ordinance.
The Downtown Business Improvement District was formed in 2013 to come up with ways to enhance and grow the downtown corridor.
Council members are proposing an increase to the per linear foot annual fee that businesses pay. Currently, businesses pay $2-dollars per linear foot. The proposal would increase that by $4-dollars to $6-dollars.
In addition, there would be a 40-percent rebate for those businesses downtown that are open year-round.
Mark Bruch is with the Downtown BID Board, and is co-owner of the Loud American Roadhouse. He says the board has been discussing this for some time.
“The reality of the current rate really doesn’t get you very far when you’re trying to do some improvements downtown. The board figured that something in the $60,000 range for a town our size seemed reasonable.”
The proposal would remove the annual fee which is capped at $600 per parcel per year. In total, it generates approximately $23,000 per year. The low cap was initially set to get the initiative to pass. Now that the Foundation has been established, the board is revisiting the assessment.
The City will send a letter to all business property owners within the BID District to notify them of the possible changes. Residential and non-profit properties are exempt from this ordinance.
A first reading to amend the ordinance will take place on May 17.
