Council authorizes development and financing agreement for downtown entertainment anchor

Dean, the city attorney, presented a development and financing agreement for an entertainment anchor that includes a movie‑theater complex to be developed by BNB/B&B Theatres and financed through bonds supported by an EDA program. The agreement lays out reporting requirements for the developer and parcel owner and anticipates a $6,300,000 line of credit the city would include in the FY26 budget as a backstop for an EDA bond issuance.

Council members asked detailed questions about the structure: whether the city would make payments during construction, how interest during construction would be handled, and what would happen if the city later chose not to appropriate supplemental payments. Finance staff explained that bond proceeds typically include capitalized interest during construction and that early bond note payments bundle construction interest. Dean and bond counsel said the city’s role, as described, is a moral/backing role to make the financing attractive and that a default or a decision not to appropriate would have long‑term credit consequences. Council discussed the admissions‑tax supplement used to support initial payments and whether the city would be exposed to continuing annual obligations; staff explained the admissions supplement phases down over time and that by year 10 the city’s $300,000 delta obligation would end. Council voted to authorize the city manager to sign the development and financing agreement, subject to final attorney review.