08-14-1995 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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Wiiconsin nwiici|ittlilks ire inchided in iftif quarter ’s and fant quarter ’s Advisor wlncii had a naad for comrnntcuom financing of waier and sewer pro^ecu in am o unts ranging from $885,000 to $3,000,000. Each received at least four htds from bidders located in Wisconsin, Michigan, nimois and. in two cases. New York, with winning net interest ranging from approxima^ly 4.8% lo S.9%. Winning tHidcrwriting. discooms ranged frm 0.1 to 0.69 points, all imidi kss than expected. What facton went into this transTonnacion of one of these BANs from ** story bonds'* to securities which both in>staie and oul> state investors could bid on? In each case there was an eiplanation of the long-term /immmcimg plan in the munivtpality's Onkial Statement whK'h allowed investors to make a reasoned judgemenf as to the ability of the municipality U' obtain the long-term financing which w as lo be used to pay off the BANs. In two cases a state or federal government agency had made a conditional commitment to provide the long term fmancing. There also appeared to be an increased willingness on the pait of bidders to take the tunc to read and understand these explanations, due perhaps to the relatively high demand tor munk'lpal bonds. While BANs are not for every municipality, their increased marketplace acceptance should be welcomed by ail as It adds to the optums open to municipalities as they seek lo resptmd to demands for infrastructure replaccnirnt and economic development. HOPKINS RECEIVES INNOVATIVE CITY AWARD TheCilv of Hopkins. Minnes4>ia. received the IWS innovative City Award from the Association of Metropolitan Municipalities (AMMi The award honors city initiatives that creat»* ely identify and correct a community issue. Hopkins IS receiving the honor for its efforts in developing a financing program that now paves the way for improvements to the Westbrooke condominium and patio home ncighburhuuds. Working with suae officiais, privMt consultants and WesdNooke a^ghbortiond resadenu, the City created the Stale ’s firsl liousing iaqvovemeat area*. Throu^ this program, the City is able lo help W'extbfooke property owners pey for private improvements to thetr neighbortnvids Westbrooke, located in south Hopkins, is compivsed of one patio home and four condominium neighborhoods There art a total of 1,296 housing units in the neighborhoods, representing about IS percent of the City’s housing stuck. Hhlers’ staff helped the City take the housing impn>vement area fnwi ccmcept to reality Rusty Fifleld helped the City staff evaluate options to address the detenoration of the housing stock in \he Westbrook neighborhoods This wcHt led to the improvcmciil area concept. This new ciMKepC required permission from the Legislature This legislatum, drafted by Gene Ranieri of Ihiblicorp (m»w of Ehlers and As.wKiates. Inc.), was designed to give the City the abilit) to finance improvements at Wesibnx>ke to be repaid thnvugh the collection of fees on the property owners ’ property taxes. Ehlers’ worked with the City to create a plan to establish the area and finarKe the improvements. The process required pn>f)cny owner petitions. Council actions on the areas, and fees subject to property owner veto. I’he success of the project reflects the collaborative approach used by the City and the humeow riers asvcK iation. The hcHising improvement area approach can be applied lo a wide range of housing needs Please call lo learn more about this tool and how to prepare for llic necessary special legislation SEEGAR SWANSON, JR. COMMENTS ON HIS RETIREMENT In 1^5. Seegar Swans4>n. Jr. joined the firm of Ehlers and AssrKiates. At that tiine the company had twx) Wisconsin accounts. Today tt has appn^ximaiely 2U) county, city, village, u>wn, sanitary distnet and scfkx'^1 disoxi clients in that Seegar itures this month "It’s been a team effort all the wav The company ha.s provided the supp^vtl, training and resources necessary for the conripany to be a true leader in the fmancial advisory field in the Badger State," said Seegar. Looking back, these m some of his thoughts: CJ Lucai gv'ierfufirnr (that mouik of many small commmnUies) is the real strength of the UmteJ States Government "of and for the people" is found in ytmr lu*metown. mn in Washingum. O Tops cm my list of great Ameru ans are the many lot ai elected officuih I have had the privilege of working with o\er the years Iah oI elected officials and staff work long and hard for the benefit of others. They seldom get the credit they desene. O It takes real cimrage for an elected official to do what is "right" rather than "■ opular". Many times this isn 't understood by the electorate. T(H} often elected officials are defeated in re election and sometimes even recalled. U I have had the privilege of working with many outstanding Un al leaders. It would bt impossible to list them all. But. oh. how wonderful you are. O There are also many great professKfnal persons / have asuH lilted with and worked beside during my career. They mcliuie 5ch(H)l supenntendi^nts, city and village administrators, business officials, municipal clerks and other local government administrators. There hasn */ been a "clock wale her" amimg them. O I have worked with outstanding bond lawyers from several firms. With O V