With plans for developing a major league soccer facility in Garden City apparently off the table, the Garden City Commission intends to seek a one-year extension of the local STAR Bond district in the hopes that a new project will come forward in that time frame.



It�s been nearly two years since major league soccer franchise Sporting Kansas City created a buzz in Garden City when it was revealed the city was seeking to use Sales Tax Revenue Bonds to help build a major league soccer training and development facility here.



The city approved a STAR Bond district and brief general project plan describing the project in December 2014. That started a two-year clock for preparing a detailed project plan and putting it through the various local approval processes and submitting the plan to the state Secretary of Commerce.



�That two-year clock expires Dec. 11. There is no project at this point,� City Manager Matt Allen said.



Sporting Kansas City hasn�t submitted a project plan, and there�s no indication it will. In December 2014, Sporting Kansas City officials indicated the total project proposed was about $100 million to create fields, locker rooms, a stadium, a semi-pro soccer team and other amenities as part of bringing the major league organization�s youth development system to Garden City. STAR Bond financing would make up about $20 million of the package.



The STAR Bond district boundaries cover approximately 312 acres from the Tangeman Sports Complex northeast to Schulman Crossing, and undeveloped land from the shopping center east to Jennie Barker Road.



A local STAR Bond would be financed using a portion of state and city sales tax generated largely from retail stores at Schulman Crossing and Menards. When the city approved the district in 2014, it set a baseline sales tax number for the tax increment that would be used in the financing calculation.



Commissioners voted unanimously in favor of the extension. Seeking an extension allows the city to preserve the STAR Bond district�s 2014 baseline.



Before the vote, Allen told the commission it either could ask the secretary of commerce for a time extension or allow the district to expire.



Allowing the district to expire would not prohibit the city from doing a STAR Bond again at some point in time if there were a worthy project. However, Allen said it�s highly unlikely that the city could create a new district that would generate enough revenue to accomplish anything �STAR Bond-worthy,� explaining that a STAR Bond project must be large enough to be an attraction that draws in out-of-state money.



Allen said what�s special about the December 2014 baseline is Menards had only been open nine months, and phase II of the Schulman Crossing retail development hadn�t been completed. A STAR Bond is financed through sales tax revenue. It would use the city�s unobligated sales tax and the state�s sales tax generated within the district.



Based on that baseline, any growth within the district boundaries from that point in time is diverted to repay bonds issued for a STAR Bond attraction. It�s calculated right now to be worth $20 to $25 million toward the project, Allen said.



The state has granted extensions in other STAR Bond cases to allow more time to complete project plans. While there�s no guarantee the extension will be granted, if it is, it could allow more time for a project to be developed.



�At this point I can�t tell you if that increases the likelihood of other projects coming forward. But if you let it expire, I know the end result of that is there�s no STAR Bond project in Garden City,� Allen said.



On Monday, Allen briefed the Finney County Commission on the STAR Bond situation, telling county officials that Sporting Kansas City was willing to put its brand on the project and to come back with a detailed project plan, including the business model and funding, both capital and ongoing operating expenses. That has not materialized, he said.



�I think we knew early on their position, and they knew ours,� Allen said Monday.



Allen told county commissioners Sporting KC was willing to provide its brand and expertise, but wanted to find a business or corporate partner that would take on capital and ongoing operating costs. Additionally, Allen said that it became clear that Sporting KC�s top priority was building the USA Soccer Training facility, also using STAR Bonds, in Kansas City.



The city was interested in creating the district to establish the baseline for the tax increment. Beyond that, Allen said, the city was reluctant �to commit prematurely to additional investment into the capital necessary to construct the facility, or maybe a bigger concern, the ongoing operation.�



�If the community ever wants to be in the position to do a STAR Bond-type project, preserving that December 2014 baseline is important. The other side of that point is, right now there�s no project,� Allen told county commissioners.



During Tuesday�s meeting, City Commissioner Dan Fankhauser pointed out, and Allen acknowledged, that the city has been using a portion of the revenue from the STAR Bond district to fund the Downtown Development Fund, a program that allows downtown property owners to be reimbursed a portion of the costs to improve downtown buildings.



The STAR Bond is generating approximately $365,000 per year in city sales tax. The city diverted $250,000 to the DDF in 2015 and 2016.



Allen said the city is setting aside the STAR Bond sales tax revenue into a fund with no property tax levy where it can be held and carried over, instead of putting it into the general fund and getting used to having that money there annually.



In response to a question after the meeting about what happens to the money if and when the district is disbanded, Allen said it isn�t earmarked for anything and would be available for use elsewhere. The state is holding onto its portion of the STAR Bond district�s funds and the state�s share would likely go into the state general fund if not used for a local STAR Bond project.



City Commissioner Roy Cessna asked if the city must have a project identified or in place to seek the extension. Allen said asking for a year sets a realistic target of what it might take to come forward with something.



�The extension may not be granted at the year level, if it�s granted at all,� Allen said. �Shorter extensions are more characteristic of what they�ve done in the past. But nonetheless, I think we need to be straightforward and give Commerce a realistic estimate of what it might take.�



The law that created the STAR Bond program expires June 30, 2017, unless reauthorized by the state legislature.