While it certainly wasn’t as flashy or energetic as a livestock auction, the county’s live bond sales for the rail park and other miscellaneous projects did break up the monotony of the Tuesday morning board of supervisors meeting, even more so when both sets of bids for the true interest costs came in under estimate.
Two bond sales were up for bid: $4.33 million for the rail park, and $800,000 for conservation and sheriff’s office projects. Jon Burmeister of PFM Financial Advisors walked county officials through the bidding process and the actual bond transaction, which was voted on later in the meeting when bids were verified.
Robert W. Baird & Co. Inc. was the winning bidder in both bond sales. Jasper County was able to secure a 4.86 percent interest rate for the $4.33 million bond, of which five financial institutions submitted bids. For the $800,000 bond, the county acquired a 3.91 percent interest rate from a pool of four bidders.
Burmeister said Jasper County was shooting for an interest rate below 5 percent for both bonds. The county will then borrow the money to finance projects.
“So you’re seeing the making of the cake, so to speak,” Burmeister said. “The county sent out what they call their official statement to the municipal bond market, and we invited all underwriters in the United States to bid on the county’s bonds. We confirmed Aa2 from the rating agency.”
Financial institutions from Wisconsin, Illinois and Tennessee participated in the bidding process. The bids were received at 9:30 a.m.
Other true interest cost bids for the $4.33 million bond include: Pipe Sandler & Co. for a 4.94 percent interest rate, BOK Financial Securities Inc. for a 4.98 percent interest rate, FHN Financial Capital Markets for a 5.04 percent interest rate and Northland Securities Inc. for a 5.19 percent interest rate.
The other bids for the $800,000 bond include: Northland Securities Inc. for a 3.97 percent interest rate, Bernardl Securities Inc. for a 4.12 percent interest rate and Bankers’ Bank for a 4.24 percent interest rate.
Burmeister said, “This competitive bid process provides the county with the lowest costs for borrowing. We have five different underwriters and 30 different banks, and we’re trying to find those investors that will provide the county with the lowest cost of borrowing. Each day that changes.”
Supervisors approved the bond sales in a unanimous vote.
However, the rail park is going to need additional funds after another partner in the project — Alliant Energy — dropped out. In response, the county and Iowa Interstate Railroad decided to split that third partner’s portion, which will require the county to secure another bond sale.
To kickstart that process, the board of supervisors set a date for a meeting to authorize another loan agreement. The meeting will take place at 9:30 a.m. June 24 at the Jasper County Courthouse. This time the loan will be for $1.95 million.
Altogether, the county will be investing $6,280,000 into the rail park.
