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St. John RDC approves lease plan, preliminarily clears up to $19.81 million in bonds for amphitheater expansion
Summary
The Town of St. John Redevelopment Commission on May 28 unanimously adopted a resolution approving a proposed lease and preliminary bond parameters to finance the Heartland Park Southern Expansion amphitheater project, with officials saying the structure is intended to be approximately tax-neutral as older debt sunsets.
The Town of St. John Redevelopment Commission voted 5-0 on May 28 to adopt Resolution 2025-05-28 A approving a proposed lease with the St. John Redevelopment Authority to finance the Heartland Park Southern Expansion amphitheater project.
Town Manager Billy said the lease "is for financing of the amphitheater project through the issuance of, lease rental bonds." He described the town as the lessor and the redevelopment authority as the lessee and said the lease will "secure the financing."
Greg Balsano, a municipal advisor with Baker Tilly Municipal Advisors, told the commission the packet at the meeting provided preliminary financial parameters, including estimates and maximums, and that the bonds would be payable from a property tax levy through the redevelopment district, which uses the same boundaries as the town. Balsano said, "the max par amount of the bonds, would be the 19,810,000.00," and that the "maximum lease rental is $3,500,000." He also described charts showing scenarios if net assessed value stayed constant versus grew 3% per year.
Balsano said the financing was structured to be as close to tax-neutral as possible by rolling the new payments around existing property tax debt and timing the new bond to take effect as an older building-court bond sunsets. He said, "the town's net assessed value has grown an average of 10% each year over the last 5 years. Last year specifically from '24 to '25, it was 9.8%." The presentation also included a scenario that assumed 3% annual growth in net assessed value.
The meeting record shows proofs of publication were received and in order before the public hearing opened. The commission opened and then closed the public hearing with no members of the public signing up to speak. The presiding officer stated, "Public hearing is closed."
After brief discussion, a commissioner moved to adopt Resolution 2025-05-28 A, and the motion received a second. A roll-call vote recorded five "aye" votes and no opposition; the resolution carried 5-0.
The resolution authorizes the proposed lease, publication of a notice of public hearing tied to the lease, and related matters. The commission did not request further public comment at the meeting. No formal amendments to the financing parameters were introduced on the floor.
