(MSC News)--The City of Atchison will host a Town Hall meeting following the next City Commission meeting on October 2nd at the Atchison Event Center. Both the City Commission meeting and the Town Hall meeting will be held in the Mercantile Ballroom on the main level of the Atchison Event Center. The City Commission meeting will begin at 4:30 p.m. and the Town Hall session will begin at 6 p.m. The Town Hall meeting will be an informational session for Atchison residents to learn more about the City’s proposed STAR Bond project. The session is open to the public and there will be a Q&A session for Atchison citizens.

If approved by the City Commission, the STAR Bonds will finance an aviation museum and a shelter for the Atchison Farmer’s Market. The museum will showcase Muriel, the last remaining 1935 Lockheed Electra-10E aircraft in the world, as well as other items that tell Amelia Earhart’s story, aviation-related educational exhibits, and experiential programming. The Farmer’s Market shelter will provide an enhanced and improved space to host a variety of agritourism related ventures and attractions, retail and entertainment venues.

STAR bonds are a financing mechanism in which the sales tax generated from a designated district is used to pay off the bonds issued for a tourism related project. The bonds are solely supported by the increase in revenue from the STAR Bond District. Utilizing STAR Bonds enables Atchison to receive the State’s 6.5% sales tax with the City’s 1% general sales to finance a national landmark project in the community.

The STAR Bond District was created and approved by the City Commission and the Kansas Secretary of Commerce in June 2017. The STAR Bond District includes part of downtown Atchison and the Amelia Earhart Airport. The downtown district is a contiguous area that includes the Farmers Market, Holiday Inn Express, and the corner of 10th and Main where the new Taco Bell restaurant is underway.

The next step is for the City to develop and submit a plan to the Department of Commerce. The plan will need to be reviewed by the Planning Commission and approved by both the City Commission and Secretary of Commerce before the City can begin the process of issuing bondsfor the project.