Leavenworth NRA renewal presentation tabled after board requests more data

Miss Holler presented the City of Leavenworth’s Neighborhood Revitalization Area (NRA) program and asked the school board to approve another 10-year renewal of the interlocal agreement that has been used on downtown and northeast Leavenworth redevelopment projects.

Holler described the NRA as a property tax-rebate tool that reimburses the increase in taxable value created by qualifying investment; she cited past projects that used the program (Broadway Lofts, Stove Lofts, Station Lofts) and said the program’s goal is to encourage projects that otherwise might not be financially viable. She said there are currently 26 properties in the program that are receiving rebates and that roughly $3.5 million in taxable property is included in the district’s NRA area; she also noted that in 2024 the district did not receive about $25,000 in potential tax revenue from one project that remains in rebate status but that the program’s investments often return revenue when the rebate period ends.

Board members pressed for more historical and financial detail, including how earlier renewals were timed, whether older five-year terms were used in earlier decades, and quantitative evidence showing how property values changed because of the program. Holler said the present trackable program dates to 2006 and was renewed in 2016, and that she could provide increment values and county-reported figures but did not have a long-term comparative analysis on hand.

Because board members requested more specific numbers and comparison to inflation and to properties not in the NRA, the chair moved, and Mister Darling seconded, to table the renewal for one month and ask Holler to provide written answers and county increment reports; the motion passed on voice vote.

Next steps: the city will provide the requested statistics and annual reporting information to the district; the board will revisit the interlocal agreement at the next meeting.