Tampa Bay Water on Monday voted to issue bonds to finance some of the repairs to its cracked reservoir.
The governing board also decided to pursue an additional appeal in the lawsuit involving the reservoir's repairs. The board approved issuing up to $85 million of revenue bonds to fund some of the repairs and finance other capital projects.
The debt is expected to price Jan. 8. Bank of America Merrill Lynch will be book-runner of the syndicate, which includes Citi, Morgan Stanley and Raymond James | Morgan Keegan.
Public Financial Management Inc. is TBW's financial advisor. Nabors, Giblin & Nickerson PA is bond counsel. GrayRobinson PA is disclosure counsel.
The repair bill for the 15.5-billion-gallon drinking water storage facility is $129.4 million. Most of the cost will come from bond proceeds the utility sold in 2008, along with proceeds from the upcoming bond sale.
In April, the multi-county wholesale water supplier lost a lawsuit that it filed against HDR Engineering Inc., in an attempt to recover money from the firm for what it contends is a faulty design.
The board has already decided to appeal the lawsuit it lost. Last week, mediators in the suit said an impasse had developed between attorneys for both sides over legal costs and underlying issues. HDR is seeking $22 million for attorney and legal fees. The governing board authorized attorneys to appeal any award of legal fees by the court.
