Waite Park council awards $30.06 million general‑obligation bond sale to fund public safety, city‑hall work

Waite Park city officials on Monday awarded the sale of $30,060,000 in general‑obligation bonds to finance public safety and city‑hall improvements.

Tammy Umdahl of Northland Public Finance presented the pricing results, saying the par amount of the bonds is "$30,060,000" and that the true interest cost for the issue was about 4.35 percent. Umdahl told the council that S&P Global affirmed the city's AA rating while reviewing the bonds. She said the bonds were priced the morning of the meeting and are scheduled to close on May 29, when proceeds will be available to the city.

The bond proceeds will pay construction costs and the cost of issuing the bonds, including capitalized interest. Umdahl explained that the bond offering produced a reoffering premium of roughly $2 million; she said that premium is paid by the underwriter and may be available to cover debt service or be deposited into the project construction fund, but that final use will be determined by city staff.

A council member pressed staff for detail on where the approximately $2 million came from; Umdahl said that amount is the reoffering premium and described how the proceeds, premium and a planned city contribution of sales‑tax dollars are combined to fund the project deposit, capitalized interest and issuance costs.

The council moved, seconded and approved a resolution to award the sale; the transcript records the action as passing unanimously by voice vote but does not list individual vote tallies.

The bond sale will close May 29, after which the city expects to have funds available for the public safety and city‑hall project.