Parent City council adopts resolutions to pursue $525,000 lease-revenue loan from CIB

Parent City Council on Oct. 18 voted to adopt two near-identical resolutions authorizing the city and its municipal building authority to proceed with lease-revenue bond financing tied to a fairgrounds and arena project and approved related waivers of notice requested by the CIB’s attorney.

City officials and the council said the financing request with the Community Impact Board (CIB) is structured as a $525,000 loan at 1% interest for 30 years. “So it is still just the 525,000 for 30 years at 1% that will be the actual loan,” a city staff member told the council during the meeting.

The resolutions—filed in the meeting materials as 2025-9 for the city council and 2025-8 for the municipal building authority—authorize execution of an annual renewable lease agreement and the issuance and sale of lease-revenue bonds to finance construction and related costs for a fairground facility, arena and accessory structures. The council’s packet also included “not to exceed” amounts in the bond documents (listed at $650,000 in one section), which bond counsel said are customary overstatements to allow for later adjustments without returning to the process.

Council members said the municipal building authority structure is being used so the funds flow through a separate fund under the authority’s name rather than directly through the city’s general fund. The council approved a waiver of special-meeting notice for both the city council and the municipal building authority at the request of CIB counsel. The waiver language in the meeting packet states that the council acknowledges receipt of notice of the special meeting and “hereby waive(s) any and all irregularities, if any, in such notice.”

Council discussion included questions about tax impacts and operating expectations for the facility. One council member asked, “What’s this gonna do to our residential taxes?” A council member or staff reply during discussion said, “Nothing. Nothing changes. We’re budgeted,” and later reiterated, “No tax is gonna be raised. No tax is gonna be raised.” That statement was made as council members discussed budgeting the debt service in the general fund and the hope that facility events would help offset costs.

Council members also referenced examples from other communities. A speaker cited DuShane and Salinas as jurisdictions where event centers drew multiple simultaneous events after several years, and said an example facility elsewhere had a construction cost of about $32 million; those remarks were offered as anecdotal context for event revenue prospects, not as fiscal projections tied to Parent City’s financing.

The council adopted resolution 2025-9 (city council) on a motion by Council member Brown, seconded by Council member Stuttler; the presiding roll call then recorded affirmative responses in the roll call sequence announced at the meeting, and the chair stated the motion carried and the resolution was adopted. The council then recessed into a municipal building authority meeting, adopted resolution 2025-8 (the municipal building authority counterpart) on a motion by Council member Brown, seconded by Council member Morgan, approved the matching waiver of notice for the authority, then returned to the city council meeting and adjourned.

Officials said a subsequent public hearing will be held in November to complete additional steps required by the CIB process. The documents for the bond financing were prepared by bond attorneys and the CIB’s counsel; council members emphasized that the “not to exceed” figures in the paperwork are precautionary language used by counsel and that the expected loan amount remains $525,000 at 1% for 30 years.

The meeting lasted about 15 minutes and included unanimous procedural votes recorded during roll call for the resolutions and waivers. The council did not debate or adopt a detailed project budget at the meeting; staff indicated that further hearings and documentation will follow as part of the CIB application and closing process.

The meeting adjourned at about 7:15 a.m. on Oct. 18 after the council completed the bond-resolution and waiver items.