Council approves first reading for Nineveh Fire District bond plan to replace aging station

The Johnson County Council voted on March 9 to approve a first reading of an ordinance that lets the Nineveh Fire Protection District issue lease‑rental bonds through a building corporation to pay for a new fire station.

Jeff Peters, municipal adviser with Peters Franklin, told the council the project — originally proposed in 2020 and later revised — now carries a total cost of $4,070,000 and is structured as a 20‑year, property‑tax‑supported repayment. Peters said tax repayments would begin in pay 2028 and finish in 2048 under the proposed schedule.

The municipal adviser and bond counsel explained the structure: a building corporation will receive bond proceeds, hold title to the project site and lease it back to the fire protection district, and the lease payments paid from property taxes will service debt. Max Adams, bond counsel with Barnes & Thornburg, said the county has no liability for the debt; the fire district is a separate taxing unit and the bonds are secured by property taxes levied by the district.

Kevin Hendrickson, president of the Nineveh Fire Protection District board and a retired firefighter, described the station’s deteriorated condition — frozen plumbing, mold, water in the bays and limitations on housing modern apparatus — and said the new facility would improve firefighter health and operational capability. "It's hard for us to buy equipment though — we have to spec it for a building that it just won't house what's out there today," Hendrickson said.

Council members pressed for clarity on timeline and taxpayer impact. Peters said the expected tax levy increase would be about 9.2¢ based on current assessed value for the district, which he estimated would translate to roughly $116 per year for a $250,000 homestead. Council members asked whether the district’s assessed valuation and small tax base were the primary reasons for the levy level; Peters and Adams confirmed the low AV drives the higher rate per property, not a county liability.

The council approved the ordinance on first reading and will hold a public hearing and second reading in April before final action. Bond counsel said construction could begin in mid‑summer if schedules, bidding and approvals proceed as expected.

Next steps: the council will consider the ordinance again at the public hearing in April; the bond issuance and appropriation of proceeds will be finalized only after the public process and a subsequent council vote.