BRADENTON, Fla. — The first phase of financing for Florida’s Acceler8, the $1.8 billion program designed to step up the completion of eight projects in the massive restoration of the Everglades, is expected to be approved Wednesday by the South Florida Water Management District.
The district board will be asked to seek bids for two series of loans totaling up to $110 million to provide short-term, interim financing that eventually will be taken out with the issuance of certificates of participation, according to documents prepared by Paul Dumars, the district’s chief financial officer.
Bids will be sought from financial institutions for $40 million of Series 2006A notes and $70 million of Series 2006B notes and the proceeds will be used to buy land and equipment and conduct tests, in connection with the Acceler8 projects, which will provide flood control and restore portions of the Everglades.
The one-year, tax-exempt notes will be repaid with property taxes collected in the 16 South Florida counties that comprise the water management district, which is a state agency that oversees regional flood control, water supply, and water quality protection, as well as ecosystem restoration.
The Acceler8 projects are part of the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan, an $8.4 billion state-federal program. Because the plan is so expensive, state officials devised the Acceler8 program to fast-track eight specific projects and ultimately finance their estimated $1.8 billion cost through the issuance of COPs.
The COPs will be sold by the newly created South Florida Water Management District Leasing Corp., which will be a new credit in the bond market.
While the interim financing is being put in place, work on the detailed plan of finance is under way, said David Moore, a managing director at Public Financial Management Inc., the district’s financial adviser.
Work on the plan over the next few months will include preparing presentations for rating agencies and insurers about the Acceler8 COP program, Moore said.
The Acceler8 program has been described by state and finance officials as a unique tool for financing environmental restoration projects.
“For years, we’ve all been trying to do things that would help restore the Everglades,” said Moore, a lifelong Floridian. “It’s exciting to be part of a program that’s going to accelerate that process.”
In addition to authorizing the interim financing on Wednesday, the district board also will be asked to create a finance committee.
The five-member committee would make recommendations to the district board concerning proposals for financing and the placement of long-term debt.
Committee duties also would include reviewing district financial policies and programs such as short- and long-term investment strategies.
The district already has chosen an 11-member underwriting syndicate for the ambitious Acceler8 COP program. The firms are: Citigroup Global Markets Inc., Morgan Stanley, Merrill Lynch & Co., UBS Financial Services Inc., Goldman, Sachs & Co, Lehman Brothers, RBC Dain Rauscher Inc., Raymond James & Associates Inc., Estrada Hinojosa & Co., Loop Capital Markets, and M.R. Beal & Co.
Bond counsel is Edwards Angell Palmer & Dodge LLP.
