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Council approves resolutions to advance Columbia City amphitheater financing
Summary
Council approved resolutions to create a building corporation and to allow reimbursement of pre-bond expenditures, a procedural step to permit bonding for an amphitheater largely funded by food-and-beverage tax revenue; the GMP and full funding package will return to council for approval.
Columbia City council on May 26 voted unanimously to approve two resolutions that move the downtown amphitheater project forward by establishing a financing structure outside the city's constitutional debt limit.
Resolution 2026-16 creates a building corporation — a separate legal entity that would issue bonds and assume project risk — while Resolution 2026-17 establishes the city’s intent to reimburse pre-bond expenditures from future bond proceeds. Council members were clear that these votes do not approve the project budget or the guaranteed maximum price (GMP); those items will come back for separate approval.
Staff said most of the amphitheater funding is expected to come from the city’s food-and-beverage tax, with a smaller amount of property-tax backup if needed. Because the total project cost would exceed the city’s constitutional debt cap, the building corporation is the mechanism that allows the city to pursue bond financing without increasing its formal debt capacity; staff characterized the step as procedural.
Councilors discussed community support requirements: staff will circulate a resident petition seeking signatures (the target discussed was at least 50 signatures, with 60 suggested as a goal) to demonstrate local backing. A council member characterized the building corporation as “effectively a bypass of the constitution,” framing the change as a procedural mechanism rather than a new pledge of city credit.
Why it matters: creating a building corporation is a common municipal tool to finance large capital projects while adhering to statutory debt limits. The council’s vote clears a preliminary legal and financing path, but the full funding package and contract (including the GMP) were not approved and must be brought back to council for final action.
Next steps: staff will return with the GMP, the final funding package, and additional project documents for council review before construction commitments are made.
