The City Council needed to approve the sale of the bonds on the same day as the sale was to take place.
Mayor Maxwell and City Finance Director Steve Hogland flew to Minneapolis to review the proposed sale, then the Council got on the phone from the Council's subcommittee meeting room and voted to approve the sale. One Council member, Kevin McKeown was working in Seattle so he got on the conference call, too.
The $44.3-million, 20-year bonds were underwritten by Piper Jaffray The bond sale was the first portion of funding for the $66-million expansion and upgrade of the city's water treatment plant in Mount Vernon. The Council meeting was over in less than 15 minutes.
Because the bonds were Build America Bonds, the city will get a hefty 3.5-percent federal subsidy, bringing the true cost of the 20-year fonds to 3.65-percent, considered very good according to the city's bond advisors.