Board amends Perkins Coie bond‑counsel contract, sets $95,000 per‑issue fee

The South Dakota Board of Water and Natural Resources on Feb. 26 approved an amendment to its bond‑counsel contract with Perkins Coie that establishes a fixed fee of $95,000 for each new bond issuance and raises the total contract cap to $762,000 through Dec. 31, 2027.

Staff said the change was needed because the existing contract did not account for multiple bond issuances during the contract period. Andy, a staff presenter, told the board that Bruce Bonjour of Perkins Coie in Chicago has served as bond counsel to the board since 1994 and that the amendment would formally incorporate per‑issue fees into section 11 of the agreement. "We will only pay for the actual services that Bruce would provide to us," Andy said during the discussion.

A board member asked whether the $95,000 fee would be in addition to an amount referenced earlier in the packet (recorded in the meeting as $6.47); staff clarified that the $6.47 figure referenced the broader total amount related to bond‑counsel services and that the $95,000 figure is the per‑issue fee being reinstated for each issuance. The amendment also increases the contract total to account for up to three additional bond issuances.

The board voted to approve the resolution authorizing execution of the amended bond counsel contract. The contract, as described by staff, would be payable only for services actually provided by Perkins Coie under the revised terms.