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Hutchinson council approves issuance of taxable industrial revenue bonds for YMCA project
Summary
Council voted unanimously to authorize taxable industrial revenue bonds (IRBs) for a new YMCA building; city will hold lease only while YMCA pays debt and assumes all debt service obligations.
The Hutchinson City Council on March 4 voted unanimously to adopt an ordinance authorizing issuance of taxable industrial revenue bonds, series 2025, to finance a new YMCA building.
The move follows a November 5, 2024 resolution in which the council previously determined the advisability of issuing IRBs for a roughly $36 million YMCA project to construct a 75,000-square-foot health, wellness and fitness facility to replace the organization’s older building. Angela Richard, Hutchinson’s director of finance, told council that by adopting the ordinance the city would become the leaseholder and that YMCA would be the lessee; once bond obligations are paid the property would be deeded back to the YMCA. She emphasized that “debt service payments and all related expenses relating to the IRBs will be paid by the YMCA. The city is not responsible in any way for this debt.”
Why it matters: IRBs allow the city to issue debt on behalf of nonprofit or private projects with property-tax exemptions in some cases; in this instance staff said there is no payment-in-lieu-of-taxes agreement because the YMCA is a nonprofit. The issuance enables construction financing while placing repayment responsibility on the YMCA.
What proponents said: Sarah Steele of bond counsel Gilmore & Bell and Shelley Hammond of the YMCA joined by video to answer council questions. Council members who spoke in favor described the YMCA as an existing community asset and said the project generally aligned with prior presentations and council expectations.
Council action: Councilmember Meggers moved to approve the ordinance and authorize the mayor to sign; the motion was seconded and passed on a roll call with Richardson, Garza, Fast, Meggers and Mayor Goss voting yes.
Next steps: Staff indicated there were only technical, non-substantive cleanups remaining in the bond documents since the packet’s distribution. The city will finalize documents and proceed with the IRB issuance process as approved by the council.
Provenance: Angela Richard’s explanatory remarks and the council motion and roll-call vote appear in the transcript blocks beginning near 961.24 and 1133.745.
