City council members unanimously approved June 1 to seek up to $45 million in general obligation bonds to fund the Bass Pro Shops project.
“This bond ordinance would authorize the city to issue bonds to provide the funds for the Bass Pro project,” said city attorney Dennis Triggs, adding it is something the city has done for the last 20 or 30 years with all of its development projects. “Of course, it’s more than just simply the building, it’s all the roads, all the infrastructure, all the improvements we hope to make in Riverfront Park.”
Triggs said the city is authorized to pledge its general obligations to pay off the debt, which in turn, saves the taxpayers a great deal of money, he said.
“Without that pledge, the cost is much higher,” he said.
Bonds will be paid off by revenues that will result because of Bass Pro, he said.
“This is one of many actions the council will have,” he said. “It’s an incredible fast track.”
The store is expected to open the fall of 2011 on the site that was once CILCO Ash Pond.
Before the meeting adjourned, commissioner Dan Decker addressed some of the rising concerns about the project.
Some have expressed concerns about the project being city owned and it being a risk for taxpayers.
“This will be as transparent of a process as we can possibly make it,” Decker said. “The public will know everything that’s going on.”
He also added there is a notion out there that they are doing this project when road improvements need to be made.
“The two are separate issues,” he said. “The money that we spend helping bring Bass Pro here could not be spent to fix our roads. They are two separate pots of money.”
Commissioner Timothy Jeffers noted the fact the project will bring 300 to 500 jobs to the city, which will be a great asset to the community, he said.
Mayor Dave Mingus closed the meeting expressing his view on people who have critiqued the project.
