Communicating with the Town Council (June 7, 2015)

Royce and Cheryl Conner believe that Apple Valley residents should communicate with the Town Council about the proposed takeover of Apple Valley Ranchos Water Company by the Town (Daily Press, Letters to the Editor: 06-04-15). Residents who take this advice should realize that the Town wants to hear from you only if you agree with the takeover.

From one-sided petitions to special editions of the Town newsletter to ads at bus stops, the Town has made it perfectly clear that it intends to go forward with the takeover no matter what. At the last council meeting I attended, thirteen persons spoke about the water issue, with twelve of them opposing the takeover, the council’s reaction to this overwhelming opposition was to vote to proceed.

The Connors also seem concerned that a private corporation might show a profit for risking its capital on a business venture. If that’s so, then they should be outraged that even though the Town of Apple Valley says it thinks Ranchos is worth less than $46 million, it is willing to pay more than $200 million for it, as long as it can find financing.

It might also interest the Connors to learn that among the greedy shareholders of Carlyle group is CalPERS, which administers health and retirement benefits on behalf of more than 3,000 public school, local agency and State employers, including the Town of Apple Valley.

A better alternative would be for the Town to run the Town’s business, and leave the water business to the professionals who have been running it so efficiently for the last six decades.

Greg Raven is Co-Chair of Apple Valley Citizens for Government Accountability, and is concerned about quality of life issues.