KRUM — An unexpectedly full house of bankers and financiers helped the city save a little as it prepared to spend a lot — $611,000 in all for a new water well.

The current manager of Krum’s bond sales, RBC Capital Markets, made a short presentation during the City Council’s regular meeting this week, followed by a presentation from competitor First Southwest Company.

“This is a little bit awkward,” said W. Boyd London Jr., managing director of First Southwest.

Typically, cities select a single company to represent them in bond sales. But the city’s finance director, DeeAnn Farmer, said that she invited both companies as well as representatives from two local banks, First United Bank and Northstar Bank, to discuss the sale.

Krum has about $300,000 remaining from a previous bond sale that was meant for the project. The city will sell another $300,000 in bonds to pay for the project.

RBC’s representative, Gary Machak, said that the bond market is still volatile, making it hard to predict what interest rate the city might have to pay on this latest sale of bonds.

“I still don’t have good news on the market, but municipal bonds are still being bought and sold,” Machak said.

First Southwest representatives agreed, calling interest rates a “wild card” on the open market.

First Southwest analyst Marti Liljekvist told the City Council that she analyzed three options for the city and recommended a private sale over a public one, or financing through the Texas Water Development Board.

Farmer further recommended the city work with First Southwest instead of RBC, saying that firm’s fees are lower and that she could vouch for its performance, because she worked with First Southwest in the past.

Both First United Bank and Northstar Bank said they were interested in purchasing the bonds, so the council agreed to issue tax bonds. First Southwest will represent the city in the sale to a local bank.

The city’s public works director, Robert Faulkner, said that once up and running, the additional capacity from the new well could serve nearly all the city, including the subdivision of History Maker homes, which previously was served by lake water from the Upper Trinity Regional Water District.

Faulkner said once an apartment complex is built on the city’s east side, that complex may be the only part of town not to be serviced by well water.

PEGGY HEINKEL-WOLFE can be reached at 940-566-6881. Her e-mail address is pheinkel-wolfe@dentonrc.com .