Larimer County explores certificates of participation to accelerate Ranch Master Plan Phase 2

Larimer County commissioners on April 2, 2025, heard an informational briefing on financing options for Phase 2 of the Ranch Master Plan that centered on whether to use certificates of participation, or COPs, to move projects forward sooner than a pay-as-you-go approach.

The discussion matters because staff estimated the public cost to build all Phase 2 projects at about $185,000,000, while the dedicated Ranch sales-and-use tax now generates roughly $14,000,000 a year — not enough to fund the full program up front. Staff presented multiple scenarios that would trade higher near-term debt service for earlier project delivery and potential revenue growth from new facilities.

Leslie Ellis, community planning, infrastructure and resources director, framed the session as an early-stage conversation: "This is really just the start of this conversation around the financing options. There's no direction sought today," she said. Connor McGrath, representing the Ranch, gave the financial and program details and explained how COPs would work in Larimer County's context.

McGrath described COPs as "a form of leaseback financing available to governments" and stressed that "COPs are not bonds, they are repaid through an annual appropriation." He said collateral for COP issuances would likely be Ranch facilities — for example the Peterson Toyota Center or the MAC equipment facility — and that the county would make annual appropriations for debt service through the Ranch budget rather than establishing general‑fund general obligation debt.

Staff outlined four illustrative approaches: a pure pay-as-you-go model that delays projects until revenues accumulate; issuance of $100 million in COPs plus pay-as-you-go financing for smaller items; issuance of $115 million plus pay-as-you-go to add an amphitheater and related infrastructure; and a staggered approach (an initial issuance with a possible second issuance later if milestones are met). In the $100 million example, consultants estimated an annual COP appropriation of about $8.9 million; the $115 million example showed annual debt service nearer $10.1 million to $10.3 million. Staff cautioned the figures were illustrations, not final offers.

Nate Ekeloff of Piper Sandler, one of the county's consultants, said the modeling shows there would still be annual excess revenues under the illustrated scenarios if the current sales‑tax stream remains in place: "There are excess revenues of about $5,200,000 a year on the hundred million dollar scenario and then $3,800,000 a year on the $115,000,000 scenario," he said.

County officials also reviewed other fiscal details discussed in the session: the Ranch currently carries a roughly $3,000,000 operating deficit that is subsidized from the dedicated sales‑use tax; existing COP debt service for other county projects runs at about $6,000,000 a year; and the initial feasibility work from Convention Sports & Leisure (CSL) and other consultants will be finalized and returned to the board in the coming weeks.

Officials named several risks and mitigations. Drawbacks of COPs include the need to pledge facilities as collateral and the political and legal risk that annual appropriation for debt service could be withheld in a future budget. Staff recommended mitigation steps including aligning COP repayment with the dedicated revenue stream, maintaining strong financial controls, using guaranteed maximum price contracts to limit cost increases, and building public transparency into the process.

Commissioners asked about credit impact, contingency for construction‑cost escalation, whether new facilities would generate sufficient revenue to help close the gap, and how issuance timing would affect whether debt service ends before the current tax sunsets. Finance director Laurie Lopez said the county would "engage our financial advisors and, and also bond counsel, and they'll help us to determine, which buildings would be best." Josh Fudge, director of performance budget and strategy, described how COP debt service is handled in the county annual budget.

Staff emphasized next steps and timing: CSL's final feasibility work was expected within weeks and staff told the board they would return in about six weeks with updated analyses and to seek direction. No motions were made and no votes occurred during the work session.

For now, commissioners left the session with a clear list of tradeoffs: pay-as-you-go minimizes financing risk but delays projects and risks higher construction costs; issuing COPs accelerates projects and captures current construction pricing but creates long‑term appropriation obligations and requires collateral. Staff will provide refined fiscal modeling, final feasibility results and proposed milestones if the board wants to consider staged debt issuance.

The county also noted expanded stakeholder engagement around the Ranch Master Plan: an "Imagine the Ranch" survey had collected about 130 responses at the time of the briefing and a dedicated communications coordinator had just started work to increase public outreach.

The board did not take formal action; staff will return with revised numbers and a recommended path forward.