Marion County court examines plan to repurpose sales tax and issue bonds for proposed $14M community center

At a Marion County Court meeting, local officials, bond counsel and consultants reviewed a proposal to build and operate a county community center funded by repurposing a half‑cent sales tax and adding a quarter‑cent sales tax for operations and maintenance, with the county issuing bonds to finance construction.

The proposal, presented by community advocates and finance advisers, would continue a structure similar to the county’s 2017 sales‑tax financing: use the half‑cent (which is near payoff) to support bond debt for construction and add a quarter‑cent to cover operation and maintenance costs. “Right now, based on a 25 year amortization, you would see it would be about $14,900,000,” Jason Holzbaum, senior vice president with Stevens Inc., told the court about preliminary financing estimates.

Why it matters: The plan would add new, county‑wide sales tax questions to the ballot and commit the county to long‑term debt and facility ownership. Counsel and finance advisers told the court that legal structure, ballot language and timing will determine how much flexibility the county has to allocate revenues and whether a nonprofit partner may run the facility under contract or lease.

What was proposed and discussed

Community advocates asked the court to put questions on the ballot to (1) issue bonds to build a community center and (2) levy a quarter‑cent sales tax for…