Do the right thing (July 26, 2016)
Madam Mayor and Town Council members,
Sometimes elected officials have an opportunity to the right thing, and often times they do just that. This town council has consistently chosen to assert their power and misguided direction by chasing the folly of taking over control of our water provider. Liberty Utilities is doing a fine job of providing safe water and maintaining a system that delivers it consistently to it customers. What’s wrong with that?
You have consistently tread blindly and foolishly into a battle against reason and against the will of your constituents.
Take a look at the poll that was conducted by our local newspaper … where nearly twice as many of Apple Valley’s residents clearly stated that they were opposed to your ill-advised efforts than those who said they supported it. Does that matter to you?
You seem content to follow the advice of Mr. Puckett, who was in charge of the finances for the City of Flint, Michigan that ultimately led to that city’s water system failure, the poisoning of dozens of their children, and has been alleged to have likely contributed to fatal cases of Legionnaires disease there. It was the largest water system failure in US history. So … is Mr. Puckett’s advice what you want to follow? He can’t even tell you how much it will cost to run the water system. And he hasn’t earned a blank check.
You seem to want to bully your constituents instead of listening to them. Now you are proposing a confusing counter ballot measure that is clearly designed to confuse us … not help or inform us. This action is full of questionable ethics and designed to lead us down your primrose path. We aren’t stupid, so please stop treating us like we are.
What business do you have running a water system? You can’t even effectively operate a golf course … another of your follies. We deserve a chance to vote on what is on the table … not your ill-advised quest and greed. You should focus on what we already have and not absorbing something that works perfectly fine.
We deserve a voice. We are offended by your bullying tactics. And we have long memories.
Thank you.
Katie Manning, Apple Valley, CA