PRELIMINARY OFFICIAL STATEMENT DATED DECEMBER 6, 2016 NEW ISSUE RATING: Moody’s Investors Service “Aa3” BOOK-ENTRY-ONLY (see “OTHER INFORMATION – Municipal Rating” herein) THE BONDS ARE NOT OBLIGATIONS DESCRIBED IN SECTION 103(A) OF THE INTERNAL REVENUE CODE OF 1986, AS AMENDED. SEE “TAX MATTERS” HEREIN. $20,930,000* PORT OF PORT ARTHUR NAVIGATION DISTRICT OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, TEXAS (A political subdivision of the State of Texas having boundaries within Jefferson County) UNLIMITED TAX PORT REFUNDING BONDS, TAXABLE SERIES 2016B Dated Date: December 1, 2016 Due: March 1 — See inside cover page (Interest Accrues from the Date of Delivery) Port of Port Arthur Navigation District of Jefferson County, Texas (the “District”) is issuing its Unlimited Tax Port Refunding Bonds, Taxable Series 2016B (the “Bonds”) pursuant to the Constitution and general laws of the State of Texas, (the “State”) including Chapter 197, Acts of the 58th Legislature, Regular Session 1963, as amended, Chapters 1207 and 1371, Texas Government Code, as amended, an election held on May 10, 2008 (the “2008 Election”), and the order authorizing the Bonds. The Bonds are direct obligations of the District and are payable from the receipts of an annual ad valorem tax, without legal limit as to rate or amount, levied all on taxable property within the District as provided in the Order. The Bonds are not issued by, nor are they in any way obligations of the State of Texas, Jefferson County or any other entity other than the District. See “DESCRIPTION OF THE BONDS — Source of Payment of the Bonds.” Simultaneously with the issuance of the Bonds, the District plans to issue $3,445,000* Unlimited Tax Port Refunding Bonds, Series 2016A (the “Series 2016A Bonds”). Interest will accrue from the Date of Delivery (defined below) of the Bonds to the Initial Purchaser and is payable on March 1, 2017, and on each September 1 and March 1 thereafter until maturity or prior redemption. Interest will be calculated on the basis of a 360-day year of twelve 30-day months. The Bonds will be issued in fully-registered form and, when issued, will be registered in the name of Cede & Co., as registered owner and the nominee for The Depository Trust Company, New York, New York (“DTC”) which will act as securities depository for the Bonds. Individual purchases of the Bonds will initially be made pursuant to the book-entry-only system described herein. Beneficial ownership of the Bonds may be acquired in denominations of $5,000 or integral multiples thereof. No physical delivery of the Bonds will be made to the beneficial owners thereof. For as long as Cede & Co. is the sole registered owner of the Bonds, the principal of and interest on the Bonds will be payable by BOKF, NA, Austin, Texas (the “Paying Agent/Registrar”) to Cede & Co., which will make distribution of the amounts so paid to the participating members of DTC for subsequent payment to the beneficial owners of the Bonds. See “THE BONDS – Book-Entry-Only System” herein. Proceeds from the sale of the Bonds will be used to i) refund certain outstanding bonds of the District (the “Refunded Bonds”), as set forth in Schedule I herein, and ii) pay the cost of issuance on the Bonds. SEE INSIDE COVER FOR MATURITY SCHEDULE The Bonds are not subject to optional redemption prior to their scheduled maturities. See “THE BONDS – No Optional Redemption” herein. If the principal amounts designated in the serial maturity schedule on the inside cover page hereof are combined to create one or more term Bonds (the “Term Bonds”), each such Term Bond shall be subject to mandatory sinking fund redemption. See “THE BONDS – Mandatory Sinking Fund Redemption” herein. The Bonds are offered for delivery, when, as and if issued by the District and received by the initial purchaser (the “Initial Purchaser”), subject to the approving opinions of the Attorney General of the State of Texas and McCall Parkhurst & Horton L.L.P., Austin, Texas, Bond Counsel for the District. See “LEGAL MATTERS” herein and “Form of Opinion of Bond Counsel” attached hereto as Appendix C. It is expected that the Bonds will be available for delivery through the facilities of DTC on or about December 29, 2016 (the “Date of Delivery”). BIDS DUE: TUESDAY, DECEMBER 13, 2016 AT 10:00A.M. (CST) The Preliminary Official Statement and the information contained herein are subject to completion or amendment. These securities may not be sold, nor any offers to buy be accepted prior to the time the Official Statement is delivered in final buy be accepted prior to the time Official Statement is delivered to offers not be sold, nor any These securities may The Preliminary contained herein are subject to completion or amendment. Official Statement and the information would solicitation, or sale sale of these securities jurisdictionbuy nor shall there be any in any in which such offer, to Under no circumstances shall this Preliminary to sell or the solicitation of an offer Official Statement constitute an offer form. such jurisdiction. prior of any or qualification under the securities to registration be unlawful laws * Preliminary, subject to change. MATURITY SCHEDULE $20,930,000* PORT OF PORT ARTHUR NAVIGATION DISTRICT OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, TEXAS UNLIMITED TAX PORT REFUNDING BONDS, TAXABLE SERIES 2016B Initial Principal Interest Reoffering (a) (b) Maturity Amount* Rate Yield CUSIP No (c) 3/1/2017 $ 310,000 % % 3/1/2018 290,000 3/1/2019 2,330,000 3/1/2020 2,370,000 3/1/2021 2,430,000 3/1/2022 2,485,000 3/1/2023 2,555,000 3/1/2024 2,635,000 3/1/2025 2,720,000 3/1/2026 2,805,000 (Interest accrues from Date of Delivery) (a) The Bonds are not subject to redemption prior to maturity. See “THE BONDS – No Optional Redemption”. (b) The initial reoffering prices or yields of the Bonds are furnished by the Initial Purchaser (as identified on the cover page hereof) and represent the initial offering prices or yields to the public, which may be changed by the Initial Purchaser at any time. (c) CUSIP numbers are included solely for the convenience of the owners of the Bonds. CUSIP is a registered trademark of the American Bankers Association. CUSIP data herein is provided by CUSIP Global Services, managed by MOODY’S Capital IQ on behalf of The American Bankers Association. This data is not intended to create a database and does not serve in any way as a substitute for the CUSIP Global Services. None of the Initial Purchaser, the District, nor the Financial Advisor is responsible for the selection or correctness of the CUSIP numbers set forth herein. * Preliminary, subject to change. ii The Port of Port Arthur Navigation District of Jefferson County, Texas (the “District”) was created by a Special Act of the 55th Legislature under provisions of Section 59, Article XVI of the Texas Constitution, ratified by referendum on June 13, 1964. The District is independent from other local or state governments and operates within district boundaries of approximately 58 square miles, including the City of Port Arthur and a part of the City of Groves. The five member elected Board of Port Commissioners governs the District. Board of Port Commissioners Board Members Position John Comeaux President Raymond C. Johnson Vice President Linda Turner Spears Secretary/Treasurer Norris Simon, Jr. Commissioner Mark Underhill Commissioner Official Representatives Name Position Floyd Gaspard Executive Port Director Larry A. Kelley, Jr. Deputy Port Director Orlando Ciramella Senior Director of Trade Judy Bettis Director of Finance Consultants Bond Counsel ............................................................................................................. McCall Parkhurst & Horton L.L.P. Austin, Texas Certified Public Accountants ................................................................................. Brammer, Begnaud & Lattimore, CPA Port Arthur, Texas Legal Counsel ..................................................................................................................................... Moore Landrey LLP Beaumont, Texas Financial Advisor ........................................................................................................... USCA Municipal Advisors, LLC Houston, Texas For Additional Information Contact: Judy Bettis Floyd Gaspard Mr. Jim Gilley Finance Director Executive Port Director USCA Municipal Advisors, LLC Port of Port Arthur Port of Port Arthur 4444 Westheimer, Suite G500 P.O. Box 1428 P.O.Box 1428 Houston, Texas 77027 Port Arthur, Texas 77641 Port Arthur, Texas 77641 Telephone: (713) 366-0555 221 Houston Avenue 221 Houston Avenue Facsimile (713) 588-8882 Port Arthur, Texas 77640 Port Arthur, Texas 77640 [email protected] Telephone: (409) 983-2011 Telephone: (409) 983-2011 [email protected] [email protected] iii USE OF INFORMATION IN OFFICIAL STATEMENT For purposes of compliance with Rule 15c2-12 of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, as amended (“Rule15c 2-12”) and in effect on the date of this Preliminary Official Statement, this document, schedules, and appendices attached hereto constitutes an “official statement” of the District with respect to the Bonds that has been “deemed final” by the District as of its date except for the omission of no more than the information permitted by Rule 15c2-12. This Official Statement is delivered in connection with the sale of securities referred to herein and may not be reproduced or used, in whole or in part, for any other purposes. All the summaries of the statutes, bond order, contracts, audited financial statements, engineering and other related reports set forth in this Official Statement are made subject to all of the provisions of such documents. These summaries do not purport to be complete statements of such provisions, and reference is made to such documents, copies of which are available from the District. Certain information set forth herein has been obtained from the District and other sources, which are believed to be reliable but is not guaranteed as to accuracy or completeness, and is not to be construed as a representation by the Initial Purchaser.