St. John council details Heartland Park amphitheater, splash pad; approves Core Construction agreement

Town Manager Billy presented details and answered public questions on the proposed Heartland Park expansion — an amphitheater, destination-style splash pad, community rooms and related parking and traffic work — at the St. John Town Council meeting on June 25.

The presentation outlined a proposed bond issuance and preliminary operating projections and was followed by nearly a dozen public-comments, largely supportive of the project. The council then approved an agreement with Core Construction to serve as construction manager/general contractor for the project.

Town Manager Billy said the project team has been working on the plan for “over a year and a half” and summarized the financing and design responses assembled for residents. He said the bonds were expected “to provide at most approximately $19,300,000 in proceeds” and that the town allocated the remainder of the announced $19,800,000 principal amount to cover financing-related costs. He added that the town would not issue bonds until competitive bids were received and that if financing costs come in lower than the preliminary estimate, “the town will reduce the bond issuance accordingly to match the actual required amount.”

Financial adviser Greg Balsano of Baker Tilly said the tax-rate impact depends on assessed-value growth: “the higher the assessed value would grow, the lower the tax rate that would need be to support that debt service.” The presenters used a 3% net assessed-value growth assumption for long-term projections; they noted the town’s five-year average assessed-value growth was about 9.8 percent. Under the 3% scenario, presenters said the town…