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Leawood leaders outline plan for 2026 bonds and temporary notes; special sale set for Aug. 10
Summary
City finance staff and municipal advisers outlined a plan to issue about $30.5 million in temporary notes to fund roads, facilities and other projects and a concurrent bond issuance to refinance prior notes; a special meeting for the sale is scheduled for Aug. 10.
Leawood officials on Tuesday received a detailed presentation on the city's proposed 2026 general obligation bonds and temporary notes and set a special meeting on Aug. 10 to complete the sale.
Jeremy Wilmot, the city's director of finance, introduced Connor Swanson of Stifel Nicholas and Company, who told the governing body the city will use short-term notes to bridge project costs and later convert them to longer-term bonds. Swanson said the temporary notes are typically one-year maturities and described the process that will lead to a market sale and final council authorization.
"Good news for the city, you have a triple a rating, which is the highest you can get," Swanson said, citing the city's strong credit rating as a favorable factor for marketing the bonds. He summarized the projects planned for short-term financing, listing roughly $6.5 million for 83rd Street work, about $5.0 million for 123rd Street (Mission to State Line), $8.0 million for facility conservation improvements, $3.7 million for Iron Horse golf course irrigation, $2.9 million for residential street reconstruction and smaller allocations for traffic and drainage work; he said the temporary notes totalled "about 30 and a half million."
Wilmot said the items on the council's agenda that night were an initial step in the process and that staff and advisors would pursue a Moody's rating review before the Aug. 10 sale. Swanson described the market timing and the August 10 sale date as the point when underwriters will submit bids and the best bid will be selected; the council will return to ratify the final structure and rates.
Council members asked about maturities and policy for tying debt length to asset life; Swanson and Wilmot said the city historically issues road projects as 15-year bonds and building projects for 20 to 25 years, and that notes are often kept to one-year terms to minimize interest costs. Swanson noted the notes come due Sept. 1 in the city's timing, which is why the sale is planned in August.
The governing body added a short special-call meeting for Aug. 10 to handle the bond sale and immediate follow-up steps, and directed staff to continue finalizing documents, rating presentations and the sale timeline.
