By VERNON ROBISON
Moapa Valley Progress
The Moapa Valley Water District Board of Directors started the process of restructuring of a portion of the district’s debt in an item heard before the board at a meeting held Thursday, July 13.
The subject of discussion was two MVWD bond issues: the first issued in 1995, and the second in 2010. The remaining principal left to pay on the two bonds total nearly $2.7 million. But at bonds’ current rates, the total paid in interest through the maturity date would total more than $1.8 million. The 1995 bond was issued at an interest rate of 5.125 percent while the 2010 bond is at 4.25 percent.
In his presentation of the item before the board, MVWD General Manager Joe Davis explained that the proposal was to refund the two Water Revenue Bonds through the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection (NDEP) Drinking Water State Revolving Fund. With that fund, the debt could be consolidated under a much lower interest rate at 2.26 percent, Davis explained.
“This would shave 12 years off of the loan and save the District in excess of $1.2 million,” Davis said.
Davis told board members that district staff had already completed a pre-application to be placed on the priority list for the funding. But to fill out the actual application, board approval was required, he said.
Once the full application is submitted, the district would also need to hire a bond counsel as well as a financial advisor to step the MVWD staff through the process, Davis explained.
“At this point, the (full) application is all filled out and we just need the board to give approval to submit it,” Davis said.
Davis estimated that there was about an 80 percent chance that, once the application is submitted, te funding would be approved by NDEP.
There was very little discussion amongst the board on the item. Logandale board member Lindsey Dalley made the motion to approve the application. The vote to adopt the motion was unanimous.
In another agenda item, the board approved a letter of agreement to retain Warren Hardy to provide general lobbying services for the district. The agreement included a consultant fee of $2,000 per month for Hardy’s services.
This item originally came before the board back in April of this year. At that time, board members had received alarming news that a certain Bill Draft Request had been submitted at the state legislature. This Bill Draft would have limited the governing power of the local water board. The bill was actually aimed at the Virgin Valley Water District (VVWD), but had included MVWD in the language as well.
As lobbyist for VVWD, Hardy had been able to move fast and keep the item from ever coming before the legislature. But the whole affair had an unsettling effect upon MVWD board members at the time. So in their April 6 meeting, the board had instructed staff to enter a conversation with Hardy about representing the district at the legislature in the future.
“You will remember that in the last legislative session, there were quite a few things that rolled through that Warren helped us navigate at the last minute,” Davis told the board last week. “And I think that it is only going to get worse with stuff that is going on. There are a lot of things that are still in the works in regards to water and drought in the state. A lot of water bills are still out there that they will try to get back and reintroduce at the next session.”
Hardy, who was in attendance at the board meeting, explained the importance having representation at the legislature for entities like MVWD.
“Government affairs is something that you don’t know that you need until you need it,” Hardy said. “Things are so complicated at the legislature now. The Democrats control both sides of the house there and frankly they just don’t understand a lot of these (water) issues. It has become very urban in focus rather than rural. So you have to be there and you have to be in the game.”
Hardy explained that he had a long history at the legislature. In addition to serving a term in the assembly while he was still in college, Hardy also served in the State Senate from 2002-2009. He had also spent about 16 years lobbying for various interests at the legislature. Among those interests were the City of Mesquite and the Virgin Valley Water District.
Hardy said that, in his work with VVWD and other entities, he had made a specialty of state water issues. He added that his expertise in the field is a well-known resource to state legislators on water issues.
“The advantage to hiring a veteran in water is that the legislature doesn’t do water legislation without talking to me first,” Hardy explained. “I know that may sound arrogant. But it is really just from being around it for so long so that people trust that you know what you are talking about. So if Sen. Pete Goicoechea is thinking about a water bill, for example, he calls me and asks how does it affect the district. It just takes a lot of years in the trenches to get to the point where that is the case.”
Hardy also explained that his usefulness to the district was not limited to the state legislature. “It would be a mistake to say that I am limited to representing you just at the legislature,” he said. “I can represent you at the county commission, or the state engineer’s office or wherever you need representation. I have built a successful business by making myself an indispensable asset to my clients. So please call me on anything if you think I can help.”
Logandale board member Ryan Wheeler made the motion to approve the agreement with Hardy. The vote to adopt the motion was unanimous.
