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Miscellaneous CorrespondenceWilliam H. Hough & Co. OLD PORT COVE 1212 U.S. HIGHWAY ONE P.O. BOX 14095 NORTH PALM BEACH, FLORIDA 33408 (305) 626-3911 December 20, 1977 Mr. Ralph W. White County Clerk County of Monroe Key West, FL 33040 Dear Mr. White: JOE B. WISE RESIDENT MANAGER RAYMOND V. CONDON The attached letter, written on December 8, 1977, was withheld from mailing in light of information from Mr. Dan Casey that he was meeting the following day with representatives of Aegis Co., who had evidenced interest in discussing the project with him. We have not heard further from Mr. Casey and, therefore, felt it appropriate to respond to your request for an evaluation of the financing of the project Ehrough County sponsorship, based upon the facts in hand at this time. We would recommend that the County keep the matter open for discussion in the event that Mr. Casey's efforts to accomplish the financing, in whole or in part, from conventional sources, are successful. We are prepared to assist the County in the event that you wish us to pursue the matter further, when and if new information is made available. May I take this opportunity to wish you and your staff my very best wishes for a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Sincerely, (;e LL R. HOUGH & CO. B. Wise JW/js cc: Dan Casey Kacy Coyle STATE, COUNTY AND MUNICIPAL BONDS William H. Hough & Co_ OLD PORT COVE 1212 U.S. HIGHWAY ONE P.O. BOX 14095 NORTH PALM BEACH, FLORIDA 33408 (305) 626-3911 December 8, 1977 Mr. Ralph W. White County Clerk County of Monroe Key West, FL 33040 Dear Mr. White: JOE B. WISE RESIDENT MANAGER RAYMOND V. CONDON We have received the brochure from Florida Atlantic Seacoast Transit, Inc. describing the proposed project to provide water -borne transportation between Fort Lauderdale, Miami and Key West. The proposal and the benefits to Monroe County in the form of improved transportation to and from the major population centers and added employment are quite evident, if the projections presented are reasonably accurate. We have no basis to doubt or confirm the projections. The wisdom of the County sponsoring the issuance of municipal bonds to fund the project, in the form of industrial revenue or a combination of industrial revenue and a pledge of County funds other than those obtained from ad valorem taxes, is questionable at this time, in our opinion. The market test of an industrial revenue bond is based primarily upon the financial credibility of the lessee's obligation to make annual principal and interest payments and to guarantee said payments in the event that the project does not measure up to preliminary projections. The market, i.e., the institutional investors, primarily requires that the lessee and guarantor be an organization with an appreciable net worth, sufficient to adequately pay the principal and interest payments from funds other than the revenues of the project, if necessary; and that the lessee has an established and profitable operating record in the specific area of endeavor. Other factors such as the debt of the company and earnings history over a period of three to five years are also of great importance. I had a most pleasant and very informative visit with Mr, Daniel Casey, President, Florida Atlantic Seacoast Transit, Inc., at which time we thoroughly discussed these requirements. I explained that our approach is similar to judging the feasibility of a bridge revenue bond since we are basically dealing with the same elements, namely transporting people, vehicles and freight from one point to another. The amount of debt which it would be necessary for F.A.S.T. to incur to commence the operation is considerable and, therefore, the net revenues necessary, equally considerable. I questioned Mr. Casey as to the success of a similar project in Hawaii and learned that it was not meeting its anticipated minimum load factor, STATE, COUNTY AND MUNICIPAL BONDS William N. Hough & Co. Mr. Ralph W. White December 8, 1977 Page Two or projected revenues. There may be some underlying reasons for the lack of success in Hawaii, primarily technical, such as rough seas and a questionable need for the service, which are not necessarily comparable to this project. In spite of this, it would be very difficult to convince a sophisticated bond market that this project would be an immediate success to the extent that the projections suggest, without some past history of a similar venture with which to compare it. It would appear to us that the somewhat speculative aspects of this project, at least in its early stages, lends itself to equity or conventional capital funding for its initial capitalizatdton. While the development of any project which improves the economy of Monroe County is to be favorably looked upon by us, our first priority to the County is to protect its financial interests and to prevent it from engaging in financing which carries any marginal aspects. We, therefore, would not be in a position to recommend that you pursue action to provide the financing for this project through the issuance of County -sponsored bonds, unless, of course, the Commission felt that the project was of such value to the County's economy as to pledge funds from the County General Fund or to bring the issue to referendum for a supporting guarantee of the principal and interest of such bonds, in the event that the lessee was unable to completely meet debt service. Again, we believe that the project has merit and that it should benefit the County if put into operation. We would encourage the County to assist F.A.S.T. in whatever fashion it can, without obligating itself or its credit to the project in its formative stages. We would be happy to meet with the County Commissioners and the staff and, of course, with Mr. Casey, to discuss the matter further if it be the wishes of the County to do so. Respectfully, WIL JW/js cc: D. Casey, President F.A.S. T. , Inc. R. HOUGH & CO. Wise William R.Houlh&Co. OLD PORT COVE 1212 D U.S. HIGHWAY ONE P.O. BOX 14095 H PALM BEACH. FLORIDA 33408 (305) 626.3911 March 27, 1981 Mr. Kermit Lewin County Administrator Monroe County Post Office Box 1680 Key West, FL 33040 Dear Kermit: JOE B, WISE VICE PRESIDENT RAYMOND V. CONDON VICE PRESIDENT JUDY M. STUBECK REPRESENTATIVE I have been meaning to write to you for a week but can't get off the telephone long enough to do anything. We want to get together to discuss the prospective jail financing. There are several ways of going about it, the most obvious being to issue General Obligation Bonds requiring a referendum. There are two other methods, but the interest rate on both would be considerably higher than that which the County would receive for a General Obligation issue. One method would be to secure the debt service by a pledge of funds derived from sources other than ad valorem taxes; the other would be to create a County Building Authority which would issue bonds, construct the facility and lease it back to the County at an annual rate equal to the debt service on the bonds. Both of these latter two methods would require budgeting funds to pay the debt service, which would probably mean an increase in taxes unless you have a surplus which. I don't know about. The Building Authority would create another layer of bureaucracy since it would be necessary to appoint five members and that, I am sure, would become very political. The County Commission would reserve approval of any action by the Authority. If you think the taxpayers are in a mood to improve the obviously inadequate penal facilities of the County to the extent that they would approve a bond issue, that STATE, COUNTY AND MUNICIPAL BONDS Mr. Kermit Lewin March 27, 1981 Page Two most certainly would be the least expensive and the quickest (once the referendum was passed) way to go. I leave that judgment to you and the Commissioners. In any event, when you give us a signal, we will start preparing information outlining the various options and their relative impact, financially. Let me know what your thoughts are... Sincerely, WI4'�IAM R. HOUGH & CO. Pe B. Wise ice President JBW/jmh CC RO�iPh s/i4-/�; William R.Hough & Co. OLD PORT COVE JOE B. WISE 1212 D U.S. HIGHWAY ONE VICE PRESIDENT P.O. BOX 14095 RAYMONU V.CONDON NORTH PALM BEACH, FLORIDA 33408 VICE PRESIDENT (305) 626.3911 JUDY M.STUBECK REPRESENTATIVE May 8, 1981 Mr. Michael H. Cates, Esq. County Attorney Post Office Box 1680 Key West, FL 33040 RE: $2,000,000 Monroe County Improvement Revenue Bond, Series 1981 Dear Mike: Pursuant to our conversation last week, we enclose a proposed Agreement relative to the above -referenced issue. This Agreement responds to the direction by the County for Hough to proceed with the financing program for this issue, acting as Agent rather than as Underwriter, as provided in our existing Agreement of 1977. Much of the work product toward a Preliminary Official Statement is completed, and a bond sale could be scheduled for late June, with a closing in July. A reasonable period of time, ten days or so, should lapse between the publishing of the Notice of Sale in the Bond Buyer and the local paper, and the acceptance of competitve bids. The Bond Buyer requires five working days prior notice to publish. If you or Mr. Proby have any questions regarding this Agreement, please call the undersigned, or Worth Blackwell in our St. Petersburg office (813-823-8100). JBW/jmh cc: Ralph White Bo Wu 1 be rn Worth Blackwell Sincerely, WILLIAM R. HOUGH & CO. B. Wise President STATE, COUNTY AND MUNICIPAL BONDS _.�. William R. Hough & Co. THE FIRST AMERICAN BUILDING JOE B. WISE SUITE 306 VICE PRESIDENT 701 U.S. HIGHWAY ONE ANTHONY C.SOY IERO POST OFFICE BOX 14095 VICE PRESIDENT NORTH PALM BEACH, FLORIDA 33408 JUDY M. ROULIS REPRESENTATIVE (305) 848-8111 March 29, 1982 Honorable Chairman and County Commissioners Monroe County, Florida Post Office Box 1680 Key West, Florida 33040 Attn: Kermit H. Lewin County Administrator Ladies and Gentlemen: To assist you in your deliberation regarding the interest of Monroe County Housing Finance Authority's implementation of a program to provide mortgage funds for multi -family rental housing development and, possibly, additional single family mortgage funds, we have outlined the following suggested schedule: 1) Appoint Housing Finance Authority Chairman (temporary six -member Authority). 2) Appoint William R. Hough & Co. as Underwriter to proceed with Financing Program 3) Appoint Housing Finance Authority Chairman and four members (permanent Authority) 4) Appoint Bond Counsel 5) Prepare Preliminary Financing Plan and Program Guide- lines for approval of Housing Finance Authority 6) Adopt Resolution, or Letter of Inducement 7) Draft Bond Resolution for Program 8) Adopt Final Bond Resolution authorizing issuance of Mortgage Revenue Bonds 9) Validation 10) Meet with bond rating agencies (New York) STATE, COUNTY AND MUNICIPAL BONDS William IL Hough & Co. Monroe County, Florida March 29, 1982 Page Two 11) Meet with Lenders and Developers (group and one-to-one meetings with'Lenders) 12) Lenders obtain preliminary developer commitments, or indications 13) Invitation to Lenders for mortgage fund applications 14) Lenders file applications for mortgage funds 15) Pre -marketing of Bond Issue 16) Purchase Proposal for Bond Issue by Underwriter 17) Closing and signing of Bond Issue (New York) It is reasonable to assume that the implementation of the above will take approximately 120-180 days to complete, assuming that market conditions and other factors are favorable. Experience with Monroe County and other counties indicates that there will be matters concerning zoning and environmental issues that will probably need be addressed by the County Commission and its Planning, Zoning & Building Board. Should you have any questions regarding the above, please feel free to call Joe Wise at (305) 848-8111 or Jerry Selitto at (813) 823-8100. Very truly yours, WIL AM R. HOUGH & CO. / Joe B. Wise ,'Vice President JBW/jmr cc: Lucien C.. Proby, Esq. Ralph W. White Joseph Scafuti William Daniels William H. HouQh & Co. THE FIRST AMERICAN BUILDING SUITE 306 701 U.S. HIGHWAY ONE POST OFFICE BOX 14095 NORTH PALM BEACH, FLORIDA 33408 (305) 848.8111 August 15, 1983 Honorable Ralph W. White County Clerk Monroe County Post Office Box 1680 Key West, Florida 33040 Dear Ralph: JOE B. WISE VICE PRESIDENT RESIDENT MANAGER ANTHONY C.SOVIERO VICE PRESIDENT JUDY M. ROULIS REPRESENTATIVE We were advised by telephone that the refunded, Series 1981 Public Improvement Bonds have been rated "Aaa" by Moody's Investors Service, by virtue of the funds to pay for them being held in escrow. The enclosed correspondence confirms the telephone call and advises that to maintain the rating, current financial information will be necessary. Based upon experience, if your office will make sure that Moody's receives a copy of the Annual Audit Report each year, it should be sufficient to keep the rating current. If they need information further than that, they can call you. With warmest personal regards, JBW/ j mr Enclosures cc: Mr. Dan Kohlage Lucien C. Proby, Jr., Esq. Si er..ly, Joe B. Wise STATE, COUNTY AND MUNICIPAL BONDS c, MOODY'S INVESTORS SERVICE/REVENUE i. llicipal Credit Report MONROE COUNTY, FLORIDA August 10, 1983 R RATING: Improvement Revenue Bonds, Series 1981 Aaa OPINION: Quality of the securities escrowed and their certified adequacy to fully service the refunded bonds are the factors reflected in the rating. SUMIARY: In May 1983, the county sold $2,155,000 Refunding Improvement Revenue Bonds, Series 1983. Net bond proceeds in the amount of $2,015,037.90 together with available cash of $114,348.75 were deposited in an irrevocable escrow account with the Florida National Bank of Miami, the escrow holder, pursuant to an escrow deposit agreement. These escrowed funds in the amount of $2,014,800 were invested U.S. treasury obligations, state and local government series, with the remaining $114,586.65 held in cash. The treasury obligations will mature at such times and in such amounts so that, together with the cash held in the escrow account, sufficient funds will be available to pay the principal of and interest on the county's Improvement Revenue Bonds, Series 1981, through July 1, 1993. The bonds maturing on July 1, 1994 and thereafter are to be called for redemption on July 1, 1992 at 102 1/2. Moody's has received the final escrow deposit agreement establishing the escrow account, and certification from Ernst & Whinney verifying the adequacy of the escrow account. B. Harrigan 102933AO.F1 THIS REPORT MAY NOT BE REPRODUCED IN WHOLE OR IN PART IN ANY FORM OR MANNER WHATEVER. It is furnished by Moody's Investors Service, Inc. at your request under your subscription agreement for your exclusive use. The information herein has been obtained from sources believed to be accurate and reliable, but because of the possibility of human and mechanical error its accuracy or completeness is not guaranteed. Moody's ratings are opinions, not recommendations to buy or sell, and their accuracy is not guaranteed. A rating should be weighed solely as one factor in an investment decision, and you should make your own study and evaluation of any issuer whose securities or debt obligations you consider buying or selling. Most issuers of corporate bonds, municipal bonds and notes, preferred stock and commercial paper which are rated by Moody's Investors Service, have, prior to receiving the rating, agreed to pay a fee to Moody's for the appraisal and rating services. The fee ranges from $850 to $45,000. Moody's Investors Service/99 Church Street, New York, N.Y. 10007/Tel.: (212) 553-0300 Moody' Inv, -'.'Ors Service Ms. Judy M. Roulis William R. Hough & Co. 701 U.S. Highway One P.O. Box 14095 North Palm Beach, Florida 33408 99 Church Street, New York, N.Y. 10007 212 553-0300 August 12, 1983 Dear Ms. Roulis: We wish to inform you that our Rating Committee has assigned the rating of Aaa to the Monroe County, Florida Imrprovement Revenue Bones, Series 1981 (Refunded). In order that we may maintain the currency of this rating over the period of the loan, we will require current financial and other updating information. We will appreciate your continued cooperation in the future. Enclosed please find a copy of the credit report on the above referenced bond review. Sincerely yours, Freda Stern Ackerman Executive Vice President WH:vlw ,OIAPVlf, P;c_4•