“More like an inquisition than a meeting.”
That’s how Tom Petway, chair of JEA’s board of directors, described the Dec. 10-11 meetings in New York City with bond-rating agencies and banks.
“The bonding agencies know more about what we do than anybody on the planet,” Petway said Tuesday at the board’s final meeting of 2015.
In the weeks before the delegation left for New York, there was concern over how the agencies might respond to the recent shakeup of the utility’s board.
Mayor Lenny Curry requested the resignations of five of the seven board members following allegations of Sunshine Law irregularities reported by The Florida Times-Union.
The two other members already had resigned after refusing Curry’s request to meet. Husein Cumber is the lone holdover from the previous board.
Another concern was the ongoing negotiations between the City Council JEA Agreement Special Committee and the not-for-profit utility over proposed changes in how JEA’s annual contribution to the general fund budget should be calculated.
After all was said and done with Fitch, Moody’s, Standard & Poor’s and Wall Street lenders, the utility retained its AA bond rating and secured a $300 million line of credit from JPMorgan Chase & Co.
In addition to Petway and Curry, the team included JEA CEO Paul McElroy and other executives and City Council President Greg Anderson.
McElroy said having Curry in the meetings to discuss the board changes and Anderson there to address the contribution negotiations helped the delegation “answer the big questions.”
McElroy reported to the board that negotiations with the agreement committee are going well, including discussions about a one-time payment of $15 million from JEA to establish a fund for sewer system expansion and septic tank mitigation. It will be matched by the city over a five-year period.
“We’ve been talking about the issue for years,” he said, adding it’s significant the city and JEA “agree to capital investment for sewers and septic tanks.”
Council member Bill Gulliford, who chairs the agreement committee, said another way to fund sewer expansion would be to levy an “availability fee” on property owners who have service available but decline to connect to avoid connection cost and monthly sewer charges.
McElroy said such a fee could be a “path to increasing use.”
After eight years in office, Warren Jones left council June 30 due to term limits. He was appointed to the JEA board by Curry after the resignations.
Jones pointed out the state requires property owners to connect to sewer service within one year of service being available, but council years ago waived the requirement in Duval County.
He suggested council might consider rescinding the waiver.
Gulliford said such a move could have political ramifications and questioned Jones’ suggestion.
“I’m wearing a different hat now,” Jones said.
Just before the meeting adjourned, Gulliford — with a smile — got the last word.
“I was glad the public had the opportunity to see Mr. Jones turn so fast,” he said.
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