Conway council OKs ordinance to take sales-tax bonds to voters, sets Nov. 18 special election

The Conway City Council voted unanimously to adopt Ordinance O-25-70 and send a sales-and-use tax bond package to a special election on Nov. 18, 2025.

The ordinance, adopted with an emergency clause, would: levy a 3/8 of 1 percent local sales-and-use tax to retire issued bonds; levy a 1/4 of 1 percent local sales-and-use tax dedicated to public-safety capital improvements (the package includes the CEOC/SEOC component); and levy a 1/8 of 1 percent local sales-and-use tax for streets, drainage and related capital improvements. Council members voted 7 to 0 both to waive three readings earlier in the meeting and to adopt the ordinance with the emergency clause.

The vote sends to voters a package of bonded projects that city staff and consultants described as a mix of multi‑phase infrastructure and facility projects, including a proposed outdoor performance amphitheater (music venue), a convention center, the Grand Theater rehabilitation, and phases of Lake Conway and North Shore work. Jamie Gates, a staff presenter, said the projects have varying levels of design and cost estimation and that construction would be carried out to the ordinance’s “not to exceed” dollar authorizations: “What we will do is build to that point and acknowledge that that plan goes years and phases into the future,” Gates said.

Council and staff discussed ballot ordering and how the city would proceed if actual construction bids exceed the not-to-exceed amounts in the ordinance. City staff said the ordinance authorizes bond issuances up to specified limits but does not require the city to issue the full amount; the city could choose to proceed only with projects that fit within the authorized amounts. Staff also said project cost estimates came from engineering design firms, review by Common Corp., and conversations with prospective third‑party providers and local soft bids, and that each project would follow public procurement rules.

On timing and payback, a staff speaker said the bonds would carry a stated maximum maturity substantially longer than expected payoff; the stated maturity discussed was roughly 30 years, with a projected payoff based on surplus tax collections estimated “somewhere between 19 and 20 years,” depending on revenue growth. The ordinance also includes standard bond‑related costs in the not-to-exceed figures, staff said.

Councilmember discussion included a request to change the order of ballot items so public safety appears first, followed by streets and drainage and then the full bond list; staff said that change could be made and confirmed the council’s requested ordering. Council members also asked for clarity for the public about whether projects would be delayed or canceled if bids came in over estimates; staff responded that the city could elect not to issue bonds for particular projects if they exceed budgeted authorizations.

The ordinance is titled "Ordinance O-25-70" on the record and includes a declared emergency clause, which the council adopted as part of the final vote. With the ordinance adopted, the city will place the tax questions and bond authorizations before voters at the special election on Nov. 18, 2025. No final bond issuances or construction contracts were approved at the meeting; staff said each project still would go through public procurement and separate contracting processes.

Funding specifics by project, the exact not-to-exceed dollar figures shown in the ordinance text, and final bond amounts were referenced in the meeting materials but not read aloud in full during the public discussion; those figures are included in the ordinance packet available from city staff. The council will return to its regular meeting schedule the second and fourth Tuesday of each month.