Redmond, WA – The City of Redmond is announcing the refinance of the bonds that paid for the Bear Creek Parkway and 161st Street improvements. The bonds originally sold in September of 2008 for $33.9 million dollars. At the time of the sale in 2008, the interest rate was 4.825%, and the bonds couldn’t be refunded until ten years passed. With the current interest rates around 2.5% to 3%, the city is planning to refund the bonds now and lock in the current interest rates until the full ten years are up (in 2019). The City will save an estimated $2.1 million over the next ten years. Read More >>
An estimated $10 million of bonds will be sold in December 2015 and January 2016. Also, the City will sell $7 million more in bonds to provide for the conversion of Redmond Way and Cleveland Streets to two-way streets. The bond sale replaces the amount that was to be a loan from the state that went unfunded by the state legislature.
The City of Redmond’s AAA S&P rating with a stable outlook was affirmed by Standard and Poors. That is the highest bond rating available (one notch above the rating for the US government!). S&P said, “We view Redmond’s city management as ‘very strong’, with strong financial policies and practices…”
“We are pleased to be recognized by the bond rating industry for the ninth consecutive year as good financial stewards for the City of Redmond,” said Mayor John Marchione.
Let's see ... the city spent about $3 million on the 166th Avenue improvements and we all know what a traffic nightmare that turned into. Now they want to sell $7 million in bonds for the conversion of Redmond Way and Cleveland Streets to two-way streets.
ReplyDeleteHasn't the city figured out that the traffic planning people don't know what they're doing? Can't wait to see how this turns out!