Solon City Council voted Aug. 18 to issue short-term notes in anticipation of bonds to fund city recreation projects and the purchase of property for a planned trail.
Council members approved Ordinance No. 2025-141 to allow up to $7.2 million in notes for constructing and improving recreational facilities, and Ordinance No. 2025-151 to allow up to $6 million in notes for acquisition and site preparation related to the North Fork Southern Headwaters Connector Trail. Both ordinances were passed under suspension and received unanimous roll-call approval.
Council members and staff framed the measures as a way to share costs across generations and to preserve city services. Councilmember Khan described the approach to borrowing as “basically like a mortgage,” adding, “In this case, we’re borrowing money not from a bank, but from the bond market.” Vice Mayor Meaney and others said the city has not carried long-term debt recently and that issuing bonds now could produce a formal credit rating.
Khan and other council members discussed “intergenerational equity,” saying borrowing spreads the cost of long-lived improvements among current and future residents rather than requiring current taxpayers to pay the full amount up front. Khan also said the city currently has no outstanding debt and that obtaining a credit rating could help secure favorable long-term interest rates.
Council discussion specified that one item mentioned during caucus—the Grant Wood irrigation project—would be consolidated with the park borrowing for efficiency, but payments for the Grant Wood irrigation project will come from the Grant Wood fund rather than the city’s general fund. Council members emphasized that fund-source decisions were intended to keep the general fund from bearing costs that a specific enterprise fund should cover.
The council recorded unanimous votes in favor of both ordinances. The council also discussed the trail acquisition clause that limits Solon’s borrowing to its portion of the purchase; council members stated multiple times that the $6,000,000 was intended only for Solon’s share of the Norfolk Southern property purchase.
The ordinances move financing forward; the borrowing authorizes the city to issue notes now and convert to bonds later as planning and credit processes continue. Council members said staff will continue working with bond counsel and credit-rating agencies before issuing long-term debt.