St. John Redevelopment Commission approves lease, authorizes bonds tied to redevelopment district property tax

ST. JOHN, Ind. — The Town of St. John Redevelopment Commission voted unanimously June 11 to make a preliminary determination to enter into a lease and to authorize execution of a lease between the St. John Redevelopment Authority and the St. John Redevelopment Commission, clearing the way for bond financing backed by a redevelopment‑district property tax.

The actions came after a public hearing with no public comment and a presentation from municipal advisors and counsel. Greg Balsano of Baker Tilly Municipal Advisors told the commission that lease rentals would be set to match debt‑service payments after bonds are issued and that the maximum lease payment under the agreement would be $3,500,000 in any year. "The average payment is estimated to be around $2,000,000 a year," Balsano said.

The nut of the matter: the lease and related bond issue would be repaid from a new property tax on the redevelopment district — the commission said the district has the same boundaries and net assessed value as the town — and the financing is being structured to "wrap" around expiring debt so the town expects minimal net change in the tax rate if assessed value keeps growing.

During discussion, Redevelopment Commission members asked whether the plan would require a tax increase. "It would be from a new property tax on the redevelopment district," Balsano said, adding that while there "could be some tax increase, we're keeping it as close as we can to tax neutral." He cited prior growth in net assessed value (NAV) and said the packet includes scenarios showing outcomes if NAV growth continues at recent averages or slows to 3 percent annually. Balsano told the commission the town has experienced about 9.8 percent average NAV growth over the past five years.

Balsano also summarized historical and projected debt‑service tax rates, saying the average rate from 2019 through 2025 was about 0.0836 and that, under the packet's growth assumptions, the rate would be around 0.08 through the bond maturity noted in the meeting materials. Commission members asked technical follow‑ups; one member said that, with the projected NAV growth and new commercial development, they were comfortable proceeding.

Procedural steps: the commission approved the May 28 meeting minutes by roll call (5–0); then held two public hearings (no public comment) that were closed by roll call (each 5–0). The commission then adopted Resolution 2025‑06‑11‑A, making the preliminary determination to enter into the lease (vote 5–0), and adopted Resolution 2025‑06‑11‑B, authorizing the lease and related actions (vote 5–0). The meeting record shows the town attorney confirmed proofs of publication for the hearings and that counsel and municipal advisors were present to answer questions.

Members publicly thanked the law firm Barnes & Thornburg and Baker Tilly Municipal Advisors for attending and answering questions. The meeting concluded with an adjournment vote.

What the commission decided is procedural: the adopted resolutions authorize the lease and related financing steps; actual bond issuance and the final lease terms will follow the actions authorized by the resolutions and any conditions contained in those documents.

Details extracted from the meeting record: - Maximum annual lease payment identified in discussion: $3,500,000. - Estimated average annual payment cited by Baker Tilly: approximately $2,000,000. - Proposed repayment source: a property tax on the redevelopment district (same boundaries as the town), to be set to match debt service after bonds are issued. - Historical average debt‑service tax rate (2019–2025) cited: ~0.0836; projected average under packet assumptions: ~0.08. - Net assessed value growth cited: roughly 9.8% average over the previous five years; packet includes a 3% growth sensitivity.

The commission did not receive any public comments during the hearings. Next steps identified by the motions and resolutions are the execution of the authorized lease and actions "related thereto," and subsequent bond issuance steps as described in the meeting packet and by counsel and the municipal advisor.