Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Finance Bond Sale topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Waconia School Board ratifies bond sale to finish indoor air quality work, refinance prior debt
Summary
The Waconia Public School District approved a bond sale to complete an indoor air quality project at the high school and to refund portions of earlier debt, with the district saying the refinancing will lower interest costs and hold tax rates steady.
The Waconia Public School District school board on an April meeting night ratified a bond sale that will fund the remaining work on an indoor air quality project at the high school and refinance parts of a prior bond issue.
District and financial advisers told the board the sale generates about $9.14 million for the remainder of the indoor air quality project and reduces interest costs on refunded debt. Michael Hart of PFM, the districts municipal advisor, said the refinancing portion yields roughly $995,000 in gross savings compared with earlier estimates and lowers the blended interest rate on the refinancing component to about 3.86%.
Hart said the project sits within the districts long-term facility maintenance program, which does not require voter approval because the work is maintenance-related. He said the board borrowed $5 million last year for the design phase and resized the second borrowing after bids came in lower than the original estimate.
The district also used a competitive process and received a credit rating upgrade from Moodys Investors Service, which moved the district from Baa3 to Baa2. Hart said Moodys noted the district has improved its financial position in recent years and that continued fiscal improvement would be needed to sustain the higher rating.
Board members moved and seconded a resolution to ratify the bond sale. The motion passed in a roll-call vote; the transcript records the affirmative as "Aye" and names present during the vote. The funds are scheduled to be received by the district on April 8 and the refunded bonds are expected to be paid off on June 26. Hart said proceeds will be held in a segregated construction account and that the district will follow IRS tax-exempt bond rules when spending the money.
District staff and advisers said the structure was intentionally planned so the new debt service would not raise property taxes but would instead replace an expected decline in tax levy receipts in coming years. The plan also includes a scheduled decline in debt service after fiscal 2031 to allow for future facility financing choices.
The board chair called for and received the motion to approve the resolution and the action was recorded.
The district will work with SiteLogic and its construction partners to sequence spending and to consider short-term, low-risk investments for idle bond proceeds until they are used on the project.
