Merriam council authorizes home-rule bond authority for Merriam Grand Marketplace; final bond amount to be set later

The Merriam City Council on Monday adopted an ordinance authorizing the city to issue general obligation bonds to help finance the Merriam Grand Marketplace development and waived the customary first reading by an 8-0 vote.

City staff described the motion as an authorization step, not the actual sale of bonds. City staff member Ingram told the council, "This is not issuing bonds," and said the council would return at a later meeting to approve any specific bond sale and amounts.

Nut graf: The authorization would allow the city to use home-rule authority under the Kansas Constitution to issue debt for economic development tied to the Merriam Grand Marketplace, a proposed mixed-use project at the northwest corner of Antioch and Shawnee Mission Parkway that would include a grocery, retail and roughly 215 apartments. Staff said no general-fund dollars are projected to be used to repay the debt; repayment is expected from redevelopment-district proceeds, a proposed 1% community improvement district and rents from grocery/retail properties the city would own.

City staff and bond counsel gave council a high-level financing estimate. The ordinance set