The City of Redmond is announcing the refinance of the bonds that paid for the Bear Creek Parkway and 161st Avenue Northeast improvements.

The bonds originally sold in September of 2008 for $33.9 million dollars. At the time of the sale in 2008, the interest rate was 4.825 percent and the bonds couldn’t be refunded until 10 years passed. With the current interest rates around 2.5-3 percent, the city is planning to refund the bonds now and lock in the current interest rates until the full 10 years are up in 2019. The city will save an estimated $2.1 million over the next 10 years.

An estimated $10 million of bonds will be sold in December 2015 and January 2016. Also, the city will sell $7 million more in bonds to provide for the conversion of Redmond Way and Cleveland Streets to two-way streets. The bond sale replaces the amount that was to be a loan from the state that went unfunded by the state legislature.

The City of Redmond’s AAA S&P rating with a stable outlook was affirmed by Standard and Poors. That is the highest bond rating available (one notch above the rating for the U.S. government).

According to a City of Redmond press release, S&P said, “We view Redmond’s city management as ‘very strong,’ with strong financial policies and practices.”

“We are pleased to be recognized by the bond rating industry for the ninth consecutive year as good financial stewards for the City of Redmond,” said Redmond Mayor John Marchione.