About us
This site is dedicated to examining the buffoonery on the part of the Town of Apple Valley (TOAV) in its failed attempt to seize control of Liberty Utilities — Apple Valley, our local water company (formerly known as Apple Valley Ranchos Water Company).
The focal point of this site is commentary on the TOAV’s actions, as well as responses to the various charges and counter-charges surrounding this issue.
To provide background and context, I also provide documents from TOAV and elsewhere that I feel bear on this expensive and unnecessary drama.
If you have comments or insights, please share them with me.
The header image is what used to be Cramer Family Park. I say used to be
because the TOAV had to ditch it due to the massive costs associated with the unwarranted purchase of the Apple Valley Country Club, now known as the Apple Valley Golf Course.
The golf course has cost Apple Valley taxpayers more than ten million dollars in operation and maintenance costs as of 2018 — not counting the purchase price. The golf course is still hemorrhaging $900,000 annually, so the TOAV proposed a special sales tax to support it. Now that the voters have rejected that sales tax increase, the TOAV is acknowledging publicly that it is broke, even though it continues previous poor spending practices. One can only imagine what might happen should TOAV spend up to $150,000,000 (at up to 12 percent interest!) buying a water utility that we already have.
Regarding the proposed hostile takeover of Liberty Utilities Apple Valley, TOAV didn’t know what it was buying, didn’t know what it was going to cost, didn’t know where the money was coming from, didn’t know what the money was going to cost, doesn’t know how to run a water utility, didn’t know who was going to run the system, and has a history of failure where water systems (and financial responsibility in general) are concerned.
— Greg Raven is Co-Chair of Apple Valley Citizens for Government Accountability, and is concerned about quality of life issues.