The Bismarck City Commission will consider appointing a committee that would develop a renewal program for the downtown area at its Thursday night commission meeting.

The Community Opportunities and Revitalization Effort, or CORE project, is deemed necessary by Mayor John Warford and Commissioner Sandi Tabor to "preserve the health of the community."

Although neither would comment for this story, saying they'd rather present the proposal to the entire commission before publicly commenting, information presented to the Tribune last week lists the challenges downtown has faced, including competition on the growing fringes of the city. As families and businesses move to the edges of Bismarck, the city hopes to find ways to lure them back to the center, or "core."

Bismarck recently approved a growth management plan, part of which gave the city zoning responsibility for the extra-territorial district four miles around the city limits. The CORE project, in a presentation provided by Warford and Tabor, would be a "natural addition."

Also on Bismarck's agenda, commissioners will consider hiring an environmental health practitioner for the Fire-Inspections Department and hear a request from Commissioner Dave Jensen to remove the no parking zone signs on the southeast corner of Sixth Street and Broadway Avenue and the northeast corner of Third Street and Thayer Avenue. The meeting will be held at 5:15 in the Tom Baker room of the City-County Building.

(Reach reporter Angie Buckley at 250-8255 or angiebuckley@ndonline.com.)