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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1984-10-17 - City Commission Workshop Meeting Minutesri MAIL REPLY TO: P.O. BOX 25010 TAMARAC, FLORIDA 33320 5811 NORTHWEST 88TH AVENUE 0 TAMARAC, FLORIDA 33321 TELEPHONE (305) 722.5900 October 15, 1984 NOTICE OF WORKSHOP MEETING CITY COUNCIL TAMARAC, FLORIDA There will be a Workshop Meeting of the City Council on Wednesday, October 17, 1984 at 10:00 A.M. in the West Conference Room at City Hall, 5811 NW 88 Avenue, Tamarac. The purpose of the meeting is to discuss Authorization for the Sale of "General Obligation" Bonds. The public is invited to attend. Carol A. Evans Assistant City Clerk "An Equal Opportunity Employer" 111 mif 0OA CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP MEETING October 17, 1984 Tape 1 CALL_„TQ QRDE,;R: Mayor Kravitz called the meeting to order at 10:00 A.M. on Wednesday, October 17, 1984, in the West Conference Room at City Hall. ROLL CALL: PIMENT: Mayor Philip B. Kravitz Vice Mayor Sydney M. Stein Councilman Jack Stelzer Councilman Raymond J. Munitz Councilman Allan C. Bernstein Elly F. Johnson, City Manager Jon M. Henning, City Attorney Steve Wood, Finance Director Patricia Marcurio, Secretary Mayor Kravitz read the official notice of the Workshop Meeting which he called to discuss authorization for the Sale of "General Obligation" Bonds. Steve Wood introduced Stanley Ross, Financial Advisor from Dean Witter Reynolds, Inc., to Council. He said he is present to explain some of the alternative financing options that the City might take concerning whether or not to insure the issue and to discuss the best time to make the sale. C/M Munitz asked how much money is in question and Mr. Ross said there were 8 million dollars in bonds authorized by the Board. He said they were taken to the Circuit Court, the validation hearing was held and the judgment was favorable. He said legal- ly the bonds can be sold at any time and the timing of the sale is mainly a matter of when the City needs the money for construction. He said the first stepo_ tbe decided is the amount of money that the architects recommend the City will need for construction. He said there are some costs of issuance which can be added to determine the amount of money needed. V/M Stein asked how long it will take from the time the City notifies them the money is needed until they receive it and Mr. Ross said they must have reasonably recent accounting data with a preliminary audit and cover letter. He said he is uncertain as to whether the City will have this before the first of December. Mr. wood said Mr. Ross could proceed unaudited with a comfort letter from the accountants. Mr. Ross said they need approximately 30 days to get ready for the sale and produce the documents that will be mailed out. He said if it goes to public sale they will need a 14-day advertising period. He said this would be approximately 6 weeks with another 30 days to deliver the bonds, totalling approximately 2-1/2 to 3 months. V/M Stein said the law specifically forbids a municipality from signing a contract without having the funds. Mr. Ross said the City would have to decide whether to sell the bonds to an under -- writer or to advertise them for public sale. He said one of the major considerations involved would be the quality rating that would be given on the bonds. He said there are two insuring companies, M.B.I.A. and AMBAC. He said both M.B.I.A. and AMBAC have Triple A standing; however, AMBAC is reluctant to go to Moody's with the same request that M.B.I.A. did. He suggested the information be submitted to both companies for evaluation, they will each set their rate and whether the City goes to public bidding or negotiated sale, the under- writer will recommend which one is best. 1 10/17/84 /pm V/M Stein asked Mr. Ross which procedure is best and Mr. Ross said if these bonds are insured by either insurance company, the advantage would be to go with a public sale. Mayor Kravitz asked if timing were not a factor and Mr. Ross said yes. V/M Stein asked Mr. Ross what the purchaser would get as a dis- count rate and Mr. Ross said probably about 1-1/2% for marketing at a public sale. C/M Stelzer asked for an explanation of what is referred to in the Ordinance as 'as needed'. He asked if the City will issue 8 million dollars worth of bonds and Mr. Wood said the City will issue the amount needed to complete the project plus all other costs that are associated with the project. Mr. Wood said it does not matter what is done with the Police facility. Mr. Ross said the best time of the year to sell bonds is between January 15 and March 15 to get the best market. C/M Bernstein asked if there will be any bans involved in this marketing and Mr. Ross said he sees no reason to have one. He said if the City came to the point where they needed to award the contracts and there was a temporary adverse reason for not selling the bonds, then they would do notes. Mr. Ross suggested the City proceed and prepare the information assuming that the Police Station will be built and send the information to the people who will evaluate it. C/M Bernstein asked if the format has been determined for these bonds and Mr. Ross said when they handle General obligation Bonds they usually do straight serials. C/M Bernstein asked if the City would be free to go to the open market to buy bonds at a discount and Mr. Ross said yes. Mr. wood said the Florida Statutes state that municipalities cannot invest in municipal bonds. C/M Bernstein asked how these things can be validated and Mr. Ross said the validation is merely a hearing in the Court which establishes the legality and has nothing to do with feasibility. C/M Bernstein asked the purpose of this workshop Meeting and Mayor Kravitz said it is to bring Council up-to-date on this item. V/M Stein said he thinks Council should authorize the Finance Department to work with the Bond Counsel to get the records ready in anticipation of proceeding between 1/15/85 and 3/15/85. Mr. wood said staff is going to put together some information to send to the people for their advice. Mr. Ross said if the Fin- ance Department decides what is being considered is for a 1/15/85 date, his office will put together a good deal of this material, get the offering document prepared and mailed out in draft form and they will prepare a legal Notice of Sale. He said if Council should feel they would need the money in March, they would bring the documents to Council for review with the terms and conditions of the Notice of Sale. He said Council would then authorize that information to be disseminated and the advertisement to be run. Mr. wood said the architects were contemplating putting the specs out for bid in the latter part of December and making an award sometime in January. He said it might not be in the City's best interest to ask the architect to delay until Febru- ary since the City may want more flexibility. Mr. Wood said they need some details from the architect on what their plans are. C/M Bernstein asked if the bonds were bought too soon, could this be to the City's advantage and Mr. Ross said the only thing that the City would have to sign is a certificate that 85% of the money will be spent in 2 years. 2 10/17/84 /pm L% A Mr. Henning said Miller & Meier has been advised that they would not be paid for approximately 8 weeks until things were worked out. He asked Councils direction if there will be no further bills approved until 1/15/85 since the contract with the archi- tect states that they will bill the City monthly and will be paid as the work is done. Mr. Wood suggested this be put on the agenda for the 10/24/84 Council meeting: "Authorization by the City Council to appropriate money from Contingencies to the G. & A. Professional Service to cover the cost to the architect until the bonds can be sold". V/M Stein said requesting the architects slow down at this point is proper because the City is not ready yet. Mr. Ross said when a City goes out for bid, they normally give 30 days to review the document and then 30 to 60 days to approve it. C/M Bernstein asked for a rough estimate of these bills incurred pertaining to the Police Department vs. the City Hall. Mr. Henning said a few Council meetings ago, the Council told the architects to stop moving forward on the Police Station, therefore, there is no more debt being incurred on the Police Station. He said there is an update, based on cost estimates where a couple of thousand dollars was paid to them for the portions they have completed. He said basically, everything spent from approximately 9/15/84 forward, concerns only City Hall. C/M Bernstein asked how much has been expended for the Police Station and Mr. Wood said approximately $130,000 with about $40,000 for the Police Station. City Manager Johnson said if the City proceeds strictly on cost, they would go with BSO because there is no question they will be more economical. Mayor Kravitz said they will work toward a target date of 3/l/85. Mayor Kravitz adjourned the meeting at 10:30 a.m. ASSISTANT CITY CLERK This public document was promulgated at a cost of $54.80 or $1.52 per copy, to inform the general public and public officers and employees about recent opinions and considerations by the City Council of the City of Tamarac. 3 10/17/84 /pm l� L J