JSDC board approves funding for Explorers Academy expansion
The funding request from Explorer's Academy Jamestown LLC was for $10,000 through the JSDC's Daycare Expansion Assistance Program that helps new child care startups and existing remodeling projects increase capacity.
The city's share will be $8,000 with the county's share being $2,000.
Explorer's Academy Jamestown LLC, which does business as Explorers Academy, is expanding its child care center that provides care for infants to school-aged children, said Alyssa Looysen, business development director at JSDC. She said the expansion gives Explorers Academy flexibility to grow its after-school care program and its current capacity of other age groups.
Explorers Academy currently does not have any openings, said Tyler Liebel, chief financial operations officer.
"There's as great a need now as there ever has been for day care, and what this addition would allow us to do is to expand our operations from 60 enrollments to upwards of 90 with the focus primarily being school age," he said.
Liebel said the expansion includes adding 600-foot-square two classrooms, two full bathrooms and a utility room that will service the new addition on the southeast side of the current building. He said some playground equipment will be updated and securing the playground area.
With the expansion, he said Explorers Academy will add five to six full-time employees or eight to nine part-time employees or a combination of the two.
The cost of the project is $592,000.
Liebel said half the project will be financed through North Dakota Development Fund Inc. He said the other half will be financed through owner equity.
The North Dakota Development Fund provides flexible gap financing through loans and equity investments not available from most conventional lenders for the purpose of economic development, according to the North Dakota Department of Commerce's website.
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In case you missed it in The Sun the week of June 9, 2025
Jun. 14—The following stories from this week appeared on and in The Jamestown Sun. The Jamestown/Stutsman Development Corp. unanimously approved funding on Monday, June 9, to help an existing child care center with its expansion. The funding request from Explorer's Academy Jamestown LLC was for $10,000 through the JSDC's Daycare Expansion Assistance Program that helps new child care startups and existing remodeling projects increase capacity. The city's share will be $8,000 with the county's share being $2,000. Explorer's Academy Jamestown LLC, which does business as Explorers Academy, is expanding its child care center that provides care for infants to school-aged children, said Alyssa Looysen, business development director at JSDC. She said the expansion gives Explorers Academy flexibility to grow its after-school care program and its current capacity of other age groups. The number of calls for service to the Jamestown Police Department in 2024 were down by about 400 when compared to 2023 but that was mostly attributed to a winter with little snowfall, according to Scott Edinger, Jamestown chief of police. The Jamestown Police Department had more than 14,600 calls for service in 2024 compared to around 15,000 in 2022 and 2023, according to the 2024 Jamestown Police Department annual report. Edinger said one of the biggest contributors to the reduction in calls for service is snow-related towing on emergency routes. "We were down more than 300 of those last year because the weather was so good," he said. He said the number of motorist assist calls were also down when compared to 2023 because of the winter. The Jamestown Police Department responded to 122 motorist assist calls in 2024 compared to 182 in 2023 and 201 in 2022. The Friends of the James River Valley Library System is working to complete a fundraising campaign that will be used to update patron computers and purchase audio-enabled children's books. The Friends of the James River Valley Library System has a $25,000 fundraising goal. The nonprofit organization has raised about $15,000 of that $25,000 goal, said Katie Webster, treasurer of the Friends of the James River Valley Library System. The Friends of the James River Valley Library System is an independent, nonprofit volunteer organization that works to further the educational and informational needs of the community through support of the library system, according to its website. Joe Rector, library system director, said the current computers are becoming obsolete. The current computers don't meet the requirements for Windows 11. Windows 10 will reach the end of support on Oct. 14, according to Microsoft's website. The James River Valley Library System Board of Directors will need to work on ensuring all bills are paid and separate assets between the city of Jamestown and Stutsman County as part of the dissolution process, according to a letter to the board from Abbagail Geroux, the library system's attorney. The Jamestown City Council approved in October providing a two-year notice to the Stutsman County Commission that the city of Jamestown will withdraw from the memorandum of agreement to provide joint library services. The city says the county is not providing its fair share of financial contributions to provide joint library services. The library board unanimously approved in March a preference to have the city of Jamestown and Stutsman County continue to offer joint library services, said Sarah Hellekson, city administrator who is a county-appointed member to the library board, at the library board meeting on Wednesday, June 11. Written consent and approval from the city of Jamestown and Stutsman County will be needed to either continue providing joint library services or to dissolve and have the city provide library services with a contract with the county, Geroux wrote. She wrote that no further action can be taken toward those two options without the written consent and approval of both entities.
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JSDC board approves funding for Explorers Academy expansion
Jun. 10—JAMESTOWN — The Jamestown/Stutsman Development Corp. unanimously approved funding on Monday, June 9, to help an existing child care center with its expansion. The funding request from Explorer's Academy Jamestown LLC was for $10,000 through the JSDC's Daycare Expansion Assistance Program that helps new child care startups and existing remodeling projects increase capacity. The city's share will be $8,000 with the county's share being $2,000. Explorer's Academy Jamestown LLC, which does business as Explorers Academy, is expanding its child care center that provides care for infants to school-aged children, said Alyssa Looysen, business development director at JSDC. She said the expansion gives Explorers Academy flexibility to grow its after-school care program and its current capacity of other age groups. Explorers Academy currently does not have any openings, said Tyler Liebel, chief financial operations officer. "There's as great a need now as there ever has been for day care, and what this addition would allow us to do is to expand our operations from 60 enrollments to upwards of 90 with the focus primarily being school age," he said. Liebel said the expansion includes adding 600-foot-square two classrooms, two full bathrooms and a utility room that will service the new addition on the southeast side of the current building. He said some playground equipment will be updated and securing the playground area. With the expansion, he said Explorers Academy will add five to six full-time employees or eight to nine part-time employees or a combination of the two. The cost of the project is $592,000. Liebel said half the project will be financed through North Dakota Development Fund Inc. He said the other half will be financed through owner equity. The North Dakota Development Fund provides flexible gap financing through loans and equity investments not available from most conventional lenders for the purpose of economic development, according to the North Dakota Department of Commerce's website.
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JSDC board funds $1M for program to develop residential lots
May 13—JAMESTOWN — The Jamestown/Stutsman Development Corp. Board of Directors unanimously approved on Monday, May 12, funding $1 million for a program that would help develop infrastructure for residential lots. The program would be 100% funded by the city of Jamestown's economic development fund with Jamestown City Council approval. The JSDC board previously approved in March a forgivable loan of $1 million to the city of Jamestown that would have been used as matching dollars for the Housing for Opportunity, Mobility and Empowerment (HOME) grant program established by Senate Bill 2225. Senate Bill 2225 failed in the North Dakota Legislature. The HOME program would have provided grant dollars for one-third of the infrastructure costs for residential development projects. The local political subdivision and the developer of the residential lots would have each provided one-third of the costs for residential development projects. The JSDC is structuring the program similarly to the HOME grant program. The JSDC's program will fund 50% of the infrastructure costs for new residential development while the developer pays 50% of those costs. The $1 million allocated for the HOME grant program will go toward the JSDC's similar program. The same parameters for the HOME grant program will be used with the JSDC's program. A minimum of five residential lots would need to be developed and the agreements for residential lot development would be between the city of Jamestown and the developer. "I don't think it's prudent for us to be investing in single lots ... across town," Shevlin said. The program can only be used for residential projects within Jamestown city limits. Mayor Dwaine Heinrich, a member of the JSDC board, said residential lots are needed in Jamestown. "They have to be somewhat affordable or we have lots that nobody can afford," he said. Heinrich said the City Council will need to decide if the remaining portion of the developer's cost will be included in the lot sale so the purchaser of the lot will be buying it without any special assessments. He also said the intent of the program is to make the lots affordable for the community. "We just want to make sure that there are lots in the community for people who want to build a house," he said. In other business, the JSDC board unanimously approved seven internships for the organization's Internship Reimbursement Program. Six internships will be eligible for the maximum reimbursement of $3,500. One internship is eligible for $1,425 of reimbursement. The program contributes up to $3,500 to reimburse employers that hire university or college students to assist in payroll costs. The program allows employers to get half of the internship reimbursed. Employers are required to pay the intern at least $15 per hour. The employer and internship position must be located in Stutsman County. Interns must be juniors or seniors or within two years of completing their program.
