SIERRA MADRE EDITION

 SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2017 

VOLUME 11 NO. 37

COMMUNITY DISCUSSES PROPOSED 
LIBRARY 'RE-PURPOSING'

COUNCIL APPROVES REFINANCING 
OF CITY'S WATER BONDS


Refinancing to yield cost savings of 
approximately $1,097,000.

Tuesday, the Sierra Madre City Council/Board 
of the Public Financing Authority approved the 
refinancing of the Water Revenue Refunding 
Bonds Series 1998A and Water Revenue Parity 
Bonds, Series 2003. The staff report says that, “The 
bond refunding would result in interest savings of 
over a million dollars over the term of the loan. 
Debt service is paid from the water fund, not the 
general fund. The bond refunding will result in an 
annual savings of approximately $68,600”. 

The City’s Water Operation has two bonds 
outstanding, the 1998A and 2003 Bonds, with an 
outstanding balance of $7,245,000. The current 
low interest rate environment provides the City 
with the opportunity to refund current bond debt 
at significant savings. The refinancing would 
not only result in interest savings but would also 
eliminate the need for making balloon payments 
toward the end of the 2003 bond term.

The fact that Sierra Madre was eligible for 
refinancing is noteworthy for as recently as 
2013,the water company’s credit rating according 
to Moody’s Investor Service was “considered 
non-investment grade.” ( http://mtnviewsnews.
com/old/?t=MVNews&v=7&n=50). The rating 
has since improved and allows the city to 
negotiate refinancing at lower interest rates.

The company that will be handling the refinancing 
is Holman Capital. According to sources familiar 
with municipal bonds. Holman Capital has 
been in business since 2009. It is one of many 
companies that have started up in recent years to 
provide new financial options for public agencies. 
These firms commonly place the loans with one 
or more institutional investors. They are a good 
alternative for smaller loans, say under $10 or 
$12 million, because the fixed costs of issuing 
bonds (legal, accounting, underwriting, insuring, 
rating) make those kinds of debt instruments 
relatively more inefficient and therefore more 
costly to borrowers.

Former Sierra Madre Mayor Bart Doyle, after 
reviewing the terms and conditions of the 
loan said the decision to refinance the bonds 
is “an excellent decision, especially in light of 
the precarious condition of the City’s Water 
Enterprise Fund. The 1998 and 2003 bonds, 
which were refinancings of preexisting debt, were 
issued to take advantage of the significant drop in 
interest rates that had occurred. This refinancing 
continues the process and further reduces the 
interest rate, the payment amount, and the 
total amount of interest owed. The 3.6 percent 
rate is attractive-current tax-exempt bonds in 
California are being issued with coupons in the 
4 to 5 percent range for seven year maturities, 
and this loan goes out 16 years. The only negative 
I see is the the the City is required to maintain 
a debt coverage ratio of 1.25, which means it 
should be careful to maintain adequate reserves 
to meet future interest payments when due. That 
will require continued vigilance in financial 
management.”

The refinancing of the bonds is one of many 
difficult situations undertaken by Sierra Madre’s 
new City Manager Gabe Engeland, however he 
credits Assistant City Manager Marcie Medina for 
doing a fantastic job of putting this refinancing 
together.

S. Henderson/MVNews

One thing was very clear at Thursday's community forum on the fate of the Sierra Madre 
Library - Sierra Madrean's LOVE their library. However, how to move forward in terms of 
the facility was the issue at hand. The meeting was held at the Hart Park House and attracted 
the entire spectrum of citizens, long time residents, new residents, civic leaders past 
and present, etc. Last month, the City Manager introduced the idea of moving the existing 
library to the Recreation Center, creating a new facility by selling the current library site. The 
discussion was passionate and yielded many new ideas. Former Mayor Mary Ann MacGillivray 
and well-known resident Bill Patzert both shared their concerns about the library's re-
purposing. Photo by Dean Lee /MVNews


SIERRA MADRE ROSE FLOAT ASSOCIATION SEEKS

APPLICATIONS FOR PRINCESSES/AMBASSADORS

The Sierra Madre Rose Float Association is once 
again seeking applications for the position of 
Princess/Ambassador (in any combination of 
female/male) to represent the City at local functions 
and activities and to ride on our float on New Year’s 
Day in the Pasadena Tournament of Roses Parade!

This year we are searching for three (3) Princesses/
Ambassadors who will not only have the honor 
of riding on the Sierra Madre float, but will have 
the pleasure of speaking to the Sierra Madre City 
Council and local service organizations and clubs. 
In addition, they will assist with float decorating 
and contribute to publicity opportunities. 
Princesses/Ambassadors will have a very exciting 
and educational year!

Application Guidelines and Process:

1)Applicants must be 15 to 18 years old, have a
3.0 grade average and be a resident of Sierra Madre.

2)Applications may be picked up at City Hall,
your High School or downloaded from the Sierra 
Madre Rose Float Association website: www.
smrosefloat.org

3)Applications must be received at the SMRFA
post office box by Friday, September 22th, 2017. 
Applications submitted later than September 22 will 
not be considered.

4)Applicants must be able to attend judging
interviews on Sunday, September 24th at 3:00pm at 
the Sierra Madre Lodge. (No parents please.)

5)Princess Coronation Ceremony will be held
Sunday, October 1, 3:15 PM at the Sierra Madre 
Lodge. Tickets are $5.00 for friends and family 
(candidates are free). Tickets will be available at the 
door. Refreshments will be served.

 

 For more information or questions, please contact 
Donna Sutcliffe at 626-355-8579.

KNOWLEDGE IS EMPOWERMENT

SIERRA MADRE FIRE DEPARTMENT FUTURE TO BE 
DISCUSSED AT NEXT COUNCIL MEETING

Sierra Madre CERT is pleased to offer a FREE 20 hour 
FEMA-certified training course to help you learn how 
to keep yourself, loved ones and neighbors safe in a 
variety of emergency and disaster situations. Classes 
will be held in the Sierra Madre EOC, located under 
Sierra Madre City Hall. 

 Please note training date changes due to concerns 
about the heat!

 Classes will now be held the week of October 14th 
thru October 21st.

Saturday, October 14: 8:00 AM – 5:30 PM

Tuesday, October 17: 6:30 PM – 9:30 PM

Wednesday, October 18: 6:30 PM – 9:30 PM

Thursday, October 19: 6:30 PM – 9:30 PM 

Saturday, October 21: 8:00 AM – 3:30 PM

 Topics covered include ‘Disaster Preparation’, 
‘Search and Rescue’, ‘Fire Safety’, ‘Cribbing’, ‘Triage’, 
‘Disaster Psychology’, ‘Medical Assessment’, and a 
‘Disaster Exercise’ conducted in and around the EOC 
and the grounds on final Saturday.

 Those who complete the training receive a backpack 
filled with emergency supplies plus a binder detailing 
all the material you’ve learned. If you miss a class, 
other CERT programs across LA County offer make 
good classes. 

TO REGISTER: www.sierramadreemergency.org/
register

 Class size is limited so please register today to 
reserve your seat.

 We hold informative meetings open to the public, the 
4th Thursday of every month (except November and 
December) Look for updates on our Facebook page! 

 Hart Park House, Memorial Park 222. E Sierra 
Madre Blvd. at 7:00 PM

 The Sierra Madre Fire Department's future will be on the agenda at the September 26th City Council 
meeting. At the last meeting, City Manager Gabe Engeland made a brief presentation on the current 
status of the SMFD and his projections that it is time for the city to go to a fully paid Fire Department, 
with increases in the number of firefighters in the department and cross training in order to maximize the 
efficiency of the each member of the department. One of the suggestions made is to have all firefighters 
and paramedics cross-trained.

 Speakers from just about every surrounding Fire Departments including Arcadia and Pasadena, along 
with members (past and present) of SMFD spoke on their views of what was needed to improve the 
department. 


Mountain Views News 80 W Sierra Madre Blvd. No. 327 Sierra Madre, Ca. 91024 Office: 626.355.2737 Fax: 626.609.3285 Email: editor@mtnviewsnews.com Website: www.mtnviewsnews.com