Park revenue bonds
Park revenue bonds may be issued by the City of Little Rock to fund improvements to the parks infrastructure of the city.
The purchase of 26 acres of land on the east side of downtown Little Rock for the Clinton Library was accomplished by the sale of park revenue bonds. Initially, the City of Little Rock Board of Directors had hoped a one-cent increase in the local hamburger tax The plan was shelved on December 3, 1997, in favor of the revenue bond plan.
On March 17, 1998 the Little Rock Board of Directors voted to approve $16.5 million in revenue bonds to purchase land for the presidential center. Approximately $11 million of the bond issue was used to purchase ten parcels of land east of I-30 on the south bank of the Arkansas River.
On April 10, 1998 Empower Arkansas was organized to block the revenue bond issue. In June 1998 Little Rock's Stephens Incorporated begins issuing revenue bonds for Library site purchase. Stephens Inc. charged $132,000 for the public issue of the bonds.
Between January and March 2001 the State District Court and Arkansas Supreme Court heard arguments that the City of Little Rock illegally issued revenue bonds for the Clinton Library. The basis of this argument was that the bonds would be secured with increases in greens fees at local public golf courses and higher ticket prices at the Little Rock Zoo. These entities would not derive proportionate returns in terms of bond revenues. The maneuver allowed the City of Little Rock to sell bonds without the general referendum required in the issuance of general obligation bonds. Annual debt service on the bonds is approximately $1.3 million.
References
- "Bonds for Clinton Library," American Libraries 29.5 (May 1998): 26.
- "A Home for Bill's Books," Economist, December 6, 1997.
- Kevin Sack, "Testing of a President: The Legacy; As Clinton Library is Planned, Tough Questions Abound," New York Times, September 13, 1998.
