Committee forwards MOU to full council to formalize A&P support for Jonesboro sports complex

A City of Jonesboro committee voted unanimously to forward Resolution 25-028 to the full City Council and to have it placed on tonight's agenda. The resolution authorizes a memorandum of understanding (MOU) acknowledging the city's support for and consent to the design, construction and financing of a proposed sports complex and documents the city's role in providing accounting and fund-management services to the Advertising & Promotion Commission (A&P Commission).

The MOU formalizes an arrangement the city has provided to the A&P Commission for roughly two decades, committee members were told. Presenters said the Jonesboro Public Facilities Board has accepted a term sheet from Capital One Public Funding, LLC to issue lease revenue bonds and that the lender intends to finance a portion of the project. One presenter said, "they're gonna loan the facilities board 65000000 dollars." The proposal anticipates the facilities board will lease the sports complex to the A&P Commission and that the commission will pay rent from legally available funds, including revenues deposited in the City of Jonesboro Advertising and Promotion Fund.

Why it matters: the action formalizes existing accounting support from the city finance department and documents how the project would be financed and operated if the bonds and lease proceed. Officials and A&P commissioners said the formal MOU is a lender requirement and would protect the lender's interests while preserving the existing dual-control financial process the commission uses for auditing and disbursements.

The resolution text presented to the committee traces the A&P Commission's origins to a city-council action on May 21, 1973, which initially levied a 1% tax on motel and hotel gross receipts. It also cites Ordinance No. 21046, adopted Nov. 2, 2021, which levied a 2% tax on prepared food sales and directed the A&P Commission to use those revenues for public recreation facilities that promote tourism. The resolution states the commission requested assistance from the public facilities board to finance part of the sports complex and that the board solicited lenders and accepted a term sheet from Capital One Public Funding, LLC.

Jerry Morgan, chair of the A&P Commission, described the MOU as a formalization of services the city already provides. "This again formalizes this," Morgan said, noting the commission has relied on city staff for accounting, audits and fund controls rather than handling cash or check-writing internally. Morgan also said the commission has recently added a full-time executive director, Craig Rickard.

Committee members asked whether the city's finance office would be expected to add staff if the complex increases workload. Presenters said the draft MOU allows for adjustments over time: payments to the city are anticipated on a quarterly basis, and the city could bill the commission directly for discrete, direct expenses such as new servers or other capital needs tied to the increased workload.

The committee recorded the motion to forward Resolution 25-028 to full council and to walk it onto tonight's agenda; the vote was announced as unanimous. No individual yes/no votes were recorded in the committee minutes provided.

If approved by the full City Council, the resolution authorizes the mayor and city clerk to execute an MOU in substantially the form attached to the resolution, and it affirms the city's support for the financing structure described in the term sheet and for the commission's use of legally available funds to pay rent under the proposed lease.

The committee had no other new-business items and adjourned following the vote.