What you need to know
- Union approved a $20 million bond ordinance to finance its Town Square project, which includes refinancing previous debt and funding the construction.
- The project will be funded through the City Growth Fund, which is sustained by the city’s payroll tax.
- Florence-based Mark Spaulding Construction was awarded a $13.7 million contract to manage construction.
With a groundbreaking ceremony scheduled for later in August, the Union City Commission is moving full steam ahead with its ambitious Union Town Square project.
The square is a multi-million-dollar project that will transform an empty 22-acre lot between US-42 and Old Union Road into a walkable park for the community. A new city building will serve as the centerpiece of the project, strengthening Union’s administrative operations.
The project was launched in summer 2022 with the aim of designing a contemporary and practical space that satisfies the city’s operational requirements while providing a friendly indoor and outdoor environment for the public.
On Aug. 8, the Union City Commission passed multiple legislative measures related to the project’s financing and construction.
First, the city passed an ordinance authorizing the issuance of up to $20 million in general obligation public project and refunding bonds, which are municipal bonds used to finance public projects that typically do not generate revenue directly. The funding will be used to partially refinance Union’s 2022 bond anticipation notes that were previously issued to purchase the land for the new city building.
Along with refinancing previous debt, funds will also be used for acquiring, constructing, and equipping the new city building and its infrastructure. The ordinance details the structure and sale of the 2025 bonds, including establishing a bond payment fund, maintaining a sinking fund, and approving necessary certificates. It authorizes designated city officials to sign all required documents and repeals any conflicting ordinances.
Frost Brown Todd attorney Donnie Warner and RSA Advisors Vice President Bryan Skinner worked with city staff to draft the bond ordinance. Skinner informed the city that Moody’s, the international credit rating agency, assigned it an Aa3 bond rating.
“They (Moody’s) said thanks to you all being good stewards of the taxpayer money, being stable financially, obviously, you’ve got a way to pay for this with the growth fund, so that really helps,” Skinner said.
Union Mayor Larry Solomon emphasized that the project will be funded by the City Growth Fund, a financial reserve allocated to supporting infrastructure and development initiatives for the city’s expanding population. This fund is generated from payroll tax collections.
Union will allocate money annually from its City Growth Fund to service debt related to the Town Square development. Additionally, the city’s payroll tax, implemented at the start of 2023, is designated to cover these debt payments. The project will cost approximately $13 million.
“A while back, we made it perfectly clear, when we developed all of this for the (Union) Town Square project, that this funding would be coming from our City Growth Fund, which is basically driven by payroll taxation,” he said.
In addition to the financial considerations, Union passed a municipal order to accept the contract of Florence-based Mark Spaulding Construction to manage the city building’s construction.
Mark Spaulding Construction is involved with various public works projects across Northern Kentucky, including the Boone County Parks Department headquarters and the City of Florence’s Fire/EMS station.
At the July 24 commission meeting, the Union approved a construction contract worth nearly $13.7 million for Mark Spaulding Construction. This contract covers a base bid of approximately $13 million for the square’s framework, plus $56,900 for an extra stainless-steel gateway fixture in the splash pad, which will also dispense water.
Lexington-based Summit Architects + Engineering and Cincinnati-based landscape architecture firm MKSK Studios designed the park layout and city hall.
