Leawood adopts $11.21 million general obligation temporary notes to refinance outstanding debt

The Leawood City Council on July 21 adopted a resolution authorizing the issuance, sale and delivery of Series 2025-1 general obligation temporary notes to refinance existing city debt.

Finance staff described the sale as a private placement soliciting bids directly from banks rather than a public offering. City staff said they distributed a two-page term sheet to roughly 18 banks; the city received six bids and chose the winning bid from Commerce Bank late on bid day. Finance staff said the new note will be $11,210,000 and that the city is contributing about $3,900,000 to retire an older outstanding note that had an original size of about $14.7 million.

David Atterberry, who presented the financing overview, said private-placement purchasers sometimes include additional fees above the stated interest rate to cover legal or credit-analysis costs. During council Q&A, a councilmember asked whether additional fees ranging from $5,000 to $50,000 were normal; Atterberry replied that such fees can be charged and that the lower fees are typical while the higher fees on the bottom of the bidders’ list “were a little excessive.”

After questions, a councilmember moved to adopt the resolution and a second was given. The council voted affirmatively by voice; the mayor announced the resolution was adopted 7–0.

Why this matters: The refinancing reduces the city’s outstanding note balance and replaces prior debt with a competitively bid private-placement structure; the city’s direct contribution reduced the principal needed in the new issuance.

Provenance: Presentation and bid details appear in the finance presentation (transcript segment starting at 915.95). The motion and voice vote are recorded immediately after the presentation (transcript segment starting at 1139.39).