President Susan Warnstrom called the meeting to order at 6:45 p.m. The attendees were introduced. All present participated in the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag of the United States.

Guest Speaker: Saul Rosenbaum, Investment Bankers to CSDA Finance Corporation: John Fox introduced Mr. Rosenbaum. Mr. Rosenbaum said their firm has underwritten bonds of $400 million for 80 special districts throughout the state. He noted capital facilities are often mission critical for a special district and that capital improvements should be funded strategically. Large capital improvement projects are rarely built without debt. The CSDA Finance Corporation was formed in 1988 and provides tax exempt funding. Services available include traditional COP instruments for a minimum of $3 million, pooled financing which spreads the costs of issuance over 3-5 district, and small lease program with private placement with 1 or 2 investors. Bond interest rates are a function of the district’s credit rating, variance can be up to 100 basis points. Rates are currently between 4.0% and 6.5%.

A complete financing team is providedby CSDA Finance Corporation, including the underwriter, bond counsel, a trustee, and a credit enhancer or rater. Mr. Rosenbaum suggested each district have a debt policy along with an affordability analysis prepared to determine an agency’s ability to afford new debt. Instruments available include COP, general obligation bonds, revenue bonds, assessment bonds, and Mello-Roos bonds. Some bonds require voter approval and others do not. Mr. Rosenbaum suggested Ratio Analysis for Public Entities which was written by his firm.

Treasurer’s Report: Chuck Arnold said the checking account balance is $7,104.15 and the savings account has $1,380.65 for a total of $8,484.81.

Approval of Minutes: Motion, second, unanimous, to approve the Minutes of the January 23, 2006 meeting.

LAFCo Report: Cathy Schlottmann reported that at the Special District Selection Committee meeting held this evening, Larry Wilson was elected to LAFCo. He will be sworn in at this Thursday’s LAFCo meeting. The MSR reports for the Cuyama Valley and the Solvang/Santa Ynez area have been distributed.

CSDA Report: John Fox reported that Catherine Smith is resigning from CSDA to become the Executive Director of CASA.

Legislative Report: George Emerson noted there are 2 major issues, eminent domain and SB 1210, and pension reform with the possibility of a 2 tier system of defined benefits for current workers and defined contributions for new hires.

Chapter Website: Larry Meyer noted he e-mailed instructions for subscribing to our e-mail list.

Next Meeting: Susan Warnstrom said our Executive Board meeting will be this Wednesday at Ellen’s in Buellton. Our next Chapter meeting will be March 27, 2006.

New Business: None.

Old Business: None.

Adjournment President Warnstrom adjourned the meeting at 8:10 p.m. The next meeting will be Monday, March 27, 2006 at this location.

Cathy Schlottmann