Another look at water (January 17, 2017)

In today’s (Monday) Opinion Section of the Daily Press, a writer references a recent article appearing in the New York Times, entitled,” In American Towns, Private Profits From Public Works.” Because I have been following the ongoing back and forth between the Town of Apple Valley and Liberty Utilities, I pulled up the article (on the Internet), which I found to be very informative, particular because it mentions not only Apple Valley, but other California cities as well as others around the U.S.

And I found that the article also provides much insight into other cost factors into rebuilding infrastructure, that very likely has gone on for sometime, something overlooked (perhaps unintentionally) in years past. Also, this article states the incentive for a Private Equity group such as the Carlyle Group (parent company of Liberty Utilities) to not want to sell their business or be taken over. And that incentive appears to me to be based upon two factors: first, the American business principle of making money …

and the second, receiving a fair market price for their business if both parties agree on that price. And not knowing exactly how much the Town of Apple Valley actually offered to pay for Liberty Utilities or knowing what Liberty Utilities is worth, I can readily see this is going to be a long, drawn out and expensive fight, not to mention the extreme expense to the Town of Apple Valley, aka, its residents.

And I suspect this entire issue will end up in a Court of Law and be decided by a jury who will also most likely be charged with determining the value with of Liberty Utilities, something than may not well favor the Town of Apple Valley.

Now the only question that remains, is what will it cost each of us in the end.

Alex Varga, Apple Valley

Source: Daily Press