Florida Bridge Agency Cancels Meeting Over Insurance Snafu

BRADENTON, Fla. — The Santa Rosa Bay Bridge Authority in north Florida cancelled its meeting set for Wednesday.

Chairman Morgan Lamb said the board could not meet because liability insurance was not in place due to a vendor problem.

The next scheduled meeting will be Feb. 15.

The SRBBA is expected to continue work on its $116 million of defaulted bonds. Restructuring options are being explored with FTI Consulting, a financial advisor hired by the trustee, Bank of New York Mellon.

In December, the Bridge Authority board met for the first time in nearly a year, because new members had been appointed. Most of the previous board resigned after the Securities and Exchange Commission launched an investigation that is believed to center around the disclosure practices.

The Bridge Authority defaulted on its bond payments July 1 and Jan. 1 because there was not enough money in reserve to make a full payment, and BNY Mellon declined to make a partial payment.

The authority in 1996 sold $95 million of bonds maturing through 2028 to build the 3.5-mile Garcon Point toll bridge. It opened in May 1999 but has suffered from much lower-than-forecast traffic ever since.

The bonds had investment-grade ratings when sold, but were not insured. Investors holding about 30% of the debt insured their bonds in the secondary market.

The SRBBA bonds are rated D by Fitch Ratings and Standard & Poor’s, and Ca by Moody’s Investors Service.

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