(a) The district may issue preliminary bonds, which need not be designated as such, to provide a fund to pay:
(1) the cost of making surveys and investigations, attorneys' fees, and engineers' work;
(2) the cost of issuing bonds; and
(3) all other costs and expenses incident to the district's operation in investigating and determining plans for the district's plant and improvements.
(b) Preliminary bonds shall be voted and authorized in the manner and under the same provisions applicable to the district's construction bonds and shall be of equal dignity with those construction bonds.