The city of Merriam is clearing the way financially for two public projects at one of the city’s busiest intersections: buying the old Antioch library branch and burying utilities along Shawnee Mission Parkway nearby.
In the past month, the Merriam City Council has separately approved the right to issue debt to purchase the now-vacant Antioch Library building for nearly $4 million and finance another $5 million for burying utility lines in front of the Merriam Grand Station development across the street.
The city council voted 7-0 on Jan. 13 to approve a resolution reserving the right to issue debt for the Antioch Library building purchase. Councilmember Reuben Cozmyer was absent.
On Jan. 27, the city council unanimously approved a similar resolution related to the $5 million utility undergrounding project.
Approving the issuing of debt doesn’t necessarily mean that’s how the city will ultimately finance the project.
City staff say the plan is to still pay in cash for both the library building purchase and the utility project with funds from the city’s I-35 tax increment financing fund.
The city plans to buy the old library and bury utility lines
Last month, the city council and the Johnson County Library board entered an agreement for the city to purchase the old Antioch branch at 8700 Shawnee Mission Pkwy., as well as a few adjacent properties.
There are no particular plans for the site at the moment, but city staff previously told the city council that officials want to purchase the old library to control the future development of the site.
Near the old Antioch Library building, a project to bury utility lines is also underway along Shawnee Mission Parkway near Antioch Road.
That $5 million project is meant, in part, to beautify the corridor in front of Merriam Grand Station and the former library branch by burying utility lines to get them out of public view.
The recent approvals give Merriam payment options
- City Administrator Chris Engel told the city council on Jan. 27 that staff still plans to pay for burying the utility lines with cash, but the resolution to approve the issuing of debt would give the city another “tool in the toolbox.”
- Engel said the city council approved “the same exact type of resolution” two weeks prior at the Jan. 13 city council meeting for the purchase of the library.
- The city is looking for “the highest and best use” for the library site, including potentially financing a project at that site, he said.
- “If somebody were to show up tomorrow and say, ‘We’ve got the grooviest thing in the whole world,’ and it’s going to cost us more than we’re comfortable spending on whatever that groovy thing is, it may behoove us — it may not — to include either the cost of (buying the) the library or the cost of utility undergrounding in that project,” Engel said.
Merriam has two months to decide whether to issue debt
- Engel told Cozmyer on Jan. 27 that the city has 60 days to act on debt issuance for either the library purchase or the utility project.
- City staff must come back to the city council for approval before issuing any debt for the two projects.
- Engel said typically the city knows beforehand if it is going to borrow money for a project. These projects are the first examples of the city reserving the right to borrow money but planning to pay cash, he said.
- The city plans to use cash from the city’s Interstate 35 tax increment financing fund to pay for both the purchase of the library and the utility project.
- The I-35 tax increment financing fund is earmarked for economic development purposes, according to city documents.
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