OTTAWA — The city’s plan to refinance about $3.4 million in electrical utility bonds was on. Then it was off. Then it was back on. And while it was on, the Ottawa City Commission voted to refinance the bonds Wednesday night. When the process started, the city proposal to refinance had some favorable bond rates, said Greg Vahrenberg, Piper Jaffray bond analyst. But several other cities and government entities decided to refinance, causing a glut of proposed issues, causing interest rates to rise sharply, he said. At that time, the city decided to skip it. But enough cities decided to back off that the interest rate dropped and suddenly, the city decided to try again, he said. The city will save about $185,000 from refinancing the bonds, he said. The city used the money from the original bond issue to build the southern substation and the power lines running along the east side of the city.
Thursday, Dec. 2, 11 p.m.
