No indebtedness shall be incurred under section 260C.19 until authorized by an election. A proposition to incur indebtedness and issue bonds for community college purposes shall be deemed carried in a merged area if approved by a sixty percent majority of all voters voting on the proposition in the area. However, if the costs of utilities are paid by a community college with funds derived from the levy authorized under section 260C.22, the community college may use the general fund moneys that would have been used to pay the costs of utilities for capital expenditures, may invest the funds, or may incur indebtedness without an election, provided that the payments on the indebtedness incurred, and any interest on the indebtedness, can be made using general funds of the community college and the total payments on the principal and interest on the indebtedness do not exceed the amount of the costs of the utilities.