06-23-1997 Council Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

,r ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES FOR JUNE 23,1997 . ROLL The Council met on the above mentioned date with the following members present: Mayor Gabriel Jabbour, Council Members J. Diann Goetten and Richard Flint. Barbara Peterson and Charles Kelley were absent. Representing Staff were City Administrator Ron Moorse, City Attorney Tom Barrett, Assistant Planning and Zoning Administrator Michael Gaffron, Planner /Zoning Administrator Elizabeth Van Zomeren, Public Services Director Greg Gappa, City Engineer Glenn Cook, City Finance Director Tom Kuehn, and Recorder Sherry Frost. Mayor Jabbour called the meeting to order at 7:02 p.m. ( #1) 7.00 P.M. AWARD SALE OF BONDS - RESOLUTION NO. 3924 Carolyn Drude of Ehlers Associates, bond consultant to the City, reported the tabulation of the seven bids received prior to 11:00 a.m. on June 23, 1997 for the $1,760,000 General Obligation improvement Bond, Series 1997. The best bid was received from Piper Jaffrey at a true interest rate of 4.9793% over 15 years. The Bond Buyer's index of 20 -year "A" -rated bonds on the national scale shows the rate is to be lowest interest rate in the last 13 months. Drude indicated the interest rates have been declining over the past several weeks and said the favorable interest rate on the current bond issue is a reflection of the City's • continuing excellent debt rating from Moodys Investors Services of Aal . Drude presented a list of other Minnesota city and county governments with Moody's debt ratings of Aal, or Aaa, and noted that the highest rating of Aaa is usually obtained by cities larger than Orono. Mayor Jabbour indicated that Pat South of Moody's had visited the City, meeting with himself, Councilman Kelley, the City Administrator, the City Finance Director, and the Finance Department support personnel, and this visit aided in maintaining the excellent bond rating for a community of our size. He noted it is difficult to receive a higher rating. Drude agreed, though she did not believe it would be impossible for the City to at some point obtain a Aaa rating. She recommended the City continue to pursue the higher rating. is Drude said Steve Rossow of Faegre Benson prepared the resolution. The resolution awards the bid to Piper Jaffrey. The resolution indicates the official statement is accepted for the sale of the bonds and directs the city's officers to sign the closing documents and the bonds themselves. She noted that the resolution further states that the City will keep the bonds tax exempt and that the bonds will be used only for public improvements. Jabbour expressed appreciation to Drude and Ehlers for their assistance, and to Staff regarding how efficiently the City is run financially, all of which has resulted in the excellent rating received by the City. Jabbour asked that the Finance Director and his staff to continue working with Moodys towards the increased bond rating. I