Bond issue election announcement by Las Vegas Valley Water District to eligible voters within district (Las Vegas), 1953

LAS VEGAS VALLEY WATER DISTRICT BOND ISSUE ELECTION ANNOUNCEMENT 1. ELECTION DATE: Directors of the Las Vegas Valley Water District, at a meeting held on Friday afternoon, August 21, 1953, formally adopted a Resolution setting Wednesday, September 30, 1953, as the date for a special e!ection to vote on the proposed bond issue to finance construction of a pipe line to transport Lake Mead water into the District, and to acquire the production and distributing facilities of the Las Vegas Land and Water Company. 2. AMOUNT OF BOND ISSUE: $8,700,000. Of this amount, $8,354,000 is scheduled for the cash reserve to cover operating costs and to meet interest payments on bonded debt during the period of construction and until the District gets into full operation. Comment: District Directors explained that the $1,200,000 difference between previous estimates of $7,500,000 bond issue, and the final $8,700,000 figure is due to the following: (a) Additional water mains required by the Las Vegas City authorities, amounting to approximately $500,000. (b) Cash reserve to cover estimated bond interest during construction and the initial stages of operation, $346,000. (c) Anticipated extensions to new subdivision developments. This includes extensions of a 24" line to run westerly from Hyde Park to the southwest corner of Section 36, in the West Charleston area, where another elevated tank will have to be erected. This amounts to approximately $354,000. 1. 3. VOTER ELIGIBILITY: (a) Anyone that is a resident of the District and a land owner is eligible to vote, provided that he registers especially for the bond election in the Division precinct where he resides. Even though an eligible property owner is now a registered voter in Clark County, it will be necessary to re-register for the bond election. Only those property owners so registered will be eligible to vote (b) Non-residents can also register and vote. However, non-residents must register in the division or precinct in which the major portion of their land is located. (c) Corporations are eligible to vote through an agent or officer, in order to qualify, a formal resolution, adopted by the Board of Directors of the corporation authorizing a named person to vote on behalf of the corporation, must be presented to the registrar. (d) In addition to the above, there is a miscellaneous group which is also eligible to register and vote. This includes trustees, executors or administrators, who have land held in trust or in an estate, and desire to vote. 4. REGISTRATION: Under the Las Vegas Valley Water District Act, the District is divided into seven divisions, each of which constitutes a precinct for the purpose of registration and election. As Secretary of the District, Harry V. Miller is Chief Registrar. Two Deputy Registrars residing in each precinct have been appointed to accept registrations. They are as follows: REFER TO ATTACHED SEPARATE SHEET SHOWING LIST OF DEPUTY REGISTRARS AND PLACES OF REGISTRATION - MARKED ITEM #1. Calvin C. Magleby, Assistant Secretary of the District, has also been appointed as a registrar, with headquarters in Room 13, at 900 South 5th Street, Las Vegas With the exception 2. of Secretary Miller and Assistant Secretary Magleby, all of the registrars listed are empowered to register only those property owners living within their respective divisions or precincts. Chief Registrar Harry Miller and Assistant Secretary Magleby are authorized to register any property owner living anywhere in the District. Registrars will be available to accept registrations starting next Monday, and will continue to accept registrations until Wednesday, September 23, 1953. 5. PURPOSES OF BOND ISSUE : Proceeds from the sale of the proposed bond issue will be used as follows: AS SET FORTH ON ATTACHED SEPARATE SHEET MARKED ITEM #2. 6. REVENUE in order to defray operating costs and meet interest and principal payments on bonded debt, it is estimated that revenue approximating $1,200,000 annually will be required. All of this revenue must be derived from rates paid by water consumers. 7. EXPENSES: Total expenses for the first ten years will average approximately $1,215,000 annually, according to present estimates. This includes the following: Estimated annual average operating costs $ 575,000 Estimated annual average bond interest 350,000 Average annual bond retirement 290,000 8. ESTIMATED WATER RATES: At the outset of operations, the engineering studies indicate that the average annual water rate of each consumer will approximate from $75.00 to $80.00 annually?or, about $6.50 monthly. This compares with the present average monthly rate of $ 2 . 7 0 per house in Las Vegas. As the population of the area grows, and service connections are increased, rates should decline. 3. 9. FINANCING : If the proposed bond issue is approved and authorized at the September 30 election, present plans call for the issuance of general obligation bonds, also payable from revenue. The bonds would also be backed by the general tax credit of the District. In the event that revenue from operations should prove insufficient to meet principal and interest on bonds, and to pay maintenance and depreciation charges, the deficit would be supplied from tax revenues in the District. Maturity: Based upon the best engineering and fiscal data currently available, the District anticipates that the bonds will be set up to mature over a 30 year period, commencing in 1955 and running to 1984. Interest on total bonded debt would start to accrue as soon as the bonds are issued and sold, but the annual payments on principal through retirement of bonds is not scheduled to start until 1955. As now set up, the proposed bond maturity schedule calls for retirement of $200,000 annually in 1955, 1956 and 1957. Thereafter the amount would increase from $260,000 in 1958 up to a maximum of $405,000 in 1962. In 1963 $350,000 would be retired. After that the yearly retirement of principal wou!d be fixed at $290,000. In outlining the proposed maturity schedule and other financing details, the District Directors emphasized the fact that final determination concerning the length of the maturity, and the amounts to be retired each year, as well as any callable features, will necessarily depend upon marketing conditions existing when the bonds are sold. In this connection, the District is given considerable latitude under the law, which provides that bonds may carry a maximum of 6% interest rate, and may run for a maximum period of 40 years. 4. 10. WATER CONSUMPTION: The present daily average consumption in Las Vegas is 13,300,000 gallons. This is based on the average for a 365 day year, with consumption ranging from a minimum low day of 12,000,000 gallons in the season of lowest consumption to a 20,000,000 gallon maximum day, at the peak summer period. 11. LAKE MEAD SUPPLY: Installation of the pipe line to transport Lake Mead water into the District will make avaitable an additional 1 3 , 7 5 0 , 0 0 0 gallons daily to supplement the underground supply from wells. Under the terms of the contract made between the District last year with Basic Management, Inc., operators of BMI, the District is permitted to take up to 5 million gallons daily from the 40" line running from the Lake to Henderson at cost. The contract further provides that the District may increase this amount to a daily maximum of 1 3 , 7 5 0 , 0 0 0 gallons by instating improvements to increase the capacity of the existing 40" pipe tine from Lake Mead to Henderson. The cost of these facilities, which must be borne by the District, is estimated to be $620,000. Although it is anticipated that the daily average requirement of Lake Mead water to supplement the underground supply may not exceed 5 million gallons during the first several years of operation, the District plans to immediately install the facilities necessary for maximum capacity. This will place the District in a position to draw on the full supply available from Lake Mead without construction delays, in the event of an unusual spurt in population or other developments demanding a sudden increase in water consumption, it will also provide a desirable safety factor to meet any possible emergency that might otherwise arise. 5.