Google

Press Banner Login






Lost Password?
No account yet? Register
Breaking News: Cal-Am agrees to sell Felton system PDF  | Print |  E-mail
Written by Press Banner   
Friday, 30 May 2008
Parties agree on $13.4 purchase price, avoid eminent-domain trial

 

San Lorenzo Valley Water District and California American Water Co. this afternoon announced an agreement to sell Cal-Am's Felton system to the water district.

The agreement came on the eve of a scheduled June 2 eminent-domain trial.

The district will pay $13.4 million, including $10.5 million cash and assumption of $2.9 million in debt related to bond funds used to build the Kirby Street water treatment plant.

 

Comments (9)Add Comment
Sad day in Felton
written by mya, May 30, 2008
Sad day for Felton residents. Just wait and see what happens to our water now.
report abuse
vote down
vote up
Votes: +3
Won't be any better
written by Tomas, May 30, 2008
Glad Cal Am is going, but SLVWD is going to be way, way worse.
report abuse
vote down
vote up
Votes: +4
Questions
written by Lianne, May 30, 2008
I thought SLVWD said the Felton water system was valued at $6 mil. Then why pay $13.4 million? Who pays the extra above the Measure W bond which has only $8 million left? SLVWD customers pay? Felton homeowners pay? It gets spread out?

SLVWD can't charge different rates between the Felton customers and the rest of the valley. So....what's up with that? Where is the extra money going to come from. SLVWD coffers? If so, shouldn't SLVWD customer have a say? And if they don't have a say....why call it local ownership or local control?

Is SLVWD going to log the watershed? Is SLVWD going to ship Felton water to south county?

The chickens are coming home to roost.
report abuse
vote down
vote up
Votes: +2
...
written by Sheesh, May 31, 2008
Now we get to watch what happens with SLVWD ownership of Felton water. Big, bad news.
report abuse
vote down
vote up
Votes: +3
NO vote to sell the water system, why vote to "buy" it back!
written by Drew, June 01, 2008
I remember reading a front page of the san lorenzo valley news banner (now the press banner) announcing SLVWD's discretionary decision to sell its water and system to to cal-am. the district said, "now we can finally pay off our bond and have a little left over"! Eventually, cal-am subsidiary "FLOW" organization led the uninformed felton residents to slaughter, who were told to vote to buy [back] the same water system SLVWD sold, several years earlier. Japanese reporters actually visited here to document the story, im sure they were embarrassed for us.... you don't vote to sell, but you vote to buy it back and charge yourself for the next 30 years -govntment is not your friend. Watch out boulder creek for a logging fest unlike you've ever seen
report abuse
vote down
vote up
Votes: +0
FLOW won what?
written by not for me!, June 02, 2008
Congratulations to FLOW! With local control that you strong armed, you hugely over paid for a money loosing water system and now will pay out the nose. I’m glad I’m on a private well.
report abuse
vote down
vote up
Votes: +3
Wait and see
written by Ben, June 03, 2008
Time will tell. Everything that the Measure W opponents reported will come to pass. Unfortunately the Press Banner (under different ownership) and Santa Cruz Senile conducted a media blackout on any pointed information that shed negative light on the measure. In the Sentinel the opponents were actually verbally attacked by a Sentinel self-described reporter.

The pluses to this sale are:

1. No more Cal Am
2. Honest residents can try to take control of the crooked SLVWD board

Unfortunately the negatives are far greater:

1. Felton residents pay too much in taxes for the takeover bond measure.
2. SVLWD has and will continue to raise rates.
3. SLVWD board playing funny money with their cronies.
4. SLVWD not the most environmentally sound agency.
5. Water quality will degrade
6. Felton water WILL get shipped out of area. That's a given and the whole purpose of the takeover...at least on the county level.

Wish us luck.

Ben
report abuse
vote down
vote up
Votes: +2
Felton's cash will FLOW to fund SLVWD's inside deals
written by DorothyJersin, June 05, 2008
SLVWD Board approved selling public land for less than was offered to support a "green" non-profit that a number of Board members favor. The more I know about SLVWD the more I think SLVWD actions are as beneficial for the public as having E-coli in our water. It's about abuse of power and in my mind local abuse of public trust is no worse (and maybe even more so) than outsiders ripping us off.
report abuse
vote down
vote up
Votes: +1
And so it begins...
written by Ben Lomond Homeowner, June 06, 2008
smilies/angry.gif Well Felton residents, last night your "savior" (SLVWD) apparantly voted to spread the $2.9 million shortage for "your" water company over all 6000 homeowners that SLVWD is serving. You didn't buy anything. You gave away your water system. Now instead of rate increases being approved by the PUC (Public Untilities Commission)as they were with CAL AM you now have five "good ol' boys" making the decisions for you. Lucky if you happen to play golf with them or perhaps live next door but otherwise you are completely at their "mercy". I didn't get to vote on your bond or even if I was willing to assume your debt but I can assure you that I will be footing the bill with the rest of SLVWD's existing customers. You have aggressively jumped from the pan straight into the fire! What do your "mouthpiece" FLOW spokesmen have to say now?
report abuse
vote down
vote up
Votes: +0

Write comment
quote
bold
italicize
underline
strike
url
image
quote
quote
smile
wink
laugh
grin
angry
sad
shocked
cool
tongue
kiss
cry
smaller | bigger

busy