[9/21/04]The Culkin Water District received approval from the Warren County Board of Supervisors to refinance a bond issue that will allow the utility to save about $60,000 in interest over the next five years.

The county board also approved a request from the utility’s board of directors to reappoint Fred Davis and Fred Baldwin to the board for new five-year terms beginning Oct. 1.

Ken Harper, attorney for the district that is one of the state’s oldest and largest, said supervisors’ approval is needed because the county was the agent for the general obligation bonds issued in 1995 which were also to refinance previous debt. The principal on the bond issue was $2,865,000 and the amount to be refinanced is $1,650,000.

“We have a short window to refinance those bonds and save the district some $60,000 without extending the maturity of the bonds,” Harper said, emphasizing the action being sought would not incur new debt or new obligations. The money was originally borrowed for system expansion and improvement.

Culkin serves a vast area north and east of Vicksburg, including the Openwood area, River Region Medical Center and Ceres Industrial Park at Flowers. The quasi-public district buys and resells City of Vicksburg water and also has its own wells and purification system.

Lucien Bourgeois, the bond attorney, told the board state law allows refinancing if it would save at least 2 percent in the amount paid in interest. “This saves 5 percent,” he said, adding the bonds will be paid out in five years, which is the original maturity date.

Bourgeois explained the next call date for the bonds is Nov. 1 and to allow for the required 30-days notice, action had to be taken by Oct. 1.

In granting the district permission to refinance the bond issue, supervisors passed resolutions to approve hiring the bond attorneys, underwriters and its own attorney to handle matters; to authorize the sale of the bonds and to call the present bond issue and pay it off.

In other matters, the board:

Approved authorization for advertising for bids on watershed projects on Dana, Possum Hollow, Roy Young and Bell Bottom roads in cooperation with the Natural Resource Conservation Service.

Approved a request from the Kansas City Southern Railway to allow the railroad right of entry and a permanent maintenance easement onto county right of way beside Warriors Trail. The railroad wants to extend an existing siding to 7,500 feet to allow the passing of longer trains.

District 4 Supervisor Carl Flanders abstained from the otherwise unanimous vote saying he had not had an opportunity to look at the site and to talk to any residents of the area who could be affected.

“I have already looked at it, and there is already a siding there and there are no houses involved,” said District 1 Supervisor David McDonald, in whose district the work would be done.

Approved recommendations from Purchasing Agent Tonga Vinson to award the purchase of a diesel, tractor truck to Empire Truck sales for a 2005 Freightliner for $75,850 and the lease-purchase of two track excavators to Stribling Equipment at $136,928 each and finance them for 48 months with First Continental Leasing at 3.04 percent.