Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
Chester Water Authority to launch website in fight against privatization
When the Chester Water Authority launches its website - chesterwaterfacts.com - next week, dueling websites will now be part of the arsenal in the fight between CWA and Aqua over the future of the 81-year-old utility.
For years, the two entities have been at odds over the assets of the Chester
Water Authority ever since Aqua presented an unsolicited bid to buy the authority for $250 million in May 2017. After the authority rejected it, various actions were taken and the matter now sits in a pile of 16 lawsuits, some which have made their way to the Commonwealth Court.
The Chester Water Authority is launching a website next week, entitled chesterwaterfacts.com - to outline its perspective.
In June, Aqua itself went live with its own site called AquaForChest er. com, which offers a look into its viewpoint.
The deadlock between the two is not likely to be broken any time soon.
“We have been doing a lot of public outreach because our ratepayers demanded it,” CWA Solicitor Francis Catania said, adding that it’s been the CWA’s purview to continue to share the issues with the public. “Our ratepayers are pressuring the board to give out more information and find out they can get involved. It’s just another vehicle.”
Aqua spokeswoman Donna Alston questioned its accuracy.
“If the new website is like the savecwa.org, it will be filled with misinformation and propaganda,” she said. “In June, we launched our own website, AquaForChester.com, to dispel and correct that misinformation.”
Since the inception of this fight, the CWA has used its website as a clearinghouse of information around the situation. A look on the website Tuesday showed a running clock totaling more than $142 million, a number the CWA says ratepayers have saved since rejecting the Aqua bid three years ago.
Catania says those savings will cap $150 million by Thanksgiving. “That’s money that our ratepayers have kept in their own pockets since May of 2017,” he said. “For the two and a half years we’ve remained a private entity, we’ve saved our ratepayers $150 million. It’s just astounding.”
Alston said that’s incorrect.
“This assertion is not based in fact and their assumptions are flawed, including that CWA customers would have gone to Aqua Pennsylvania rates
on Day 1,” she said, adding that the early offer included a proposal to hold the fees for transitioning CWA ratepayers for 10 years.
She also referred to the AquaforChester website that notes all Aqua increases are subject to approval by the state Public Utility Commission and the most recent approval was last year for 9.8 percent. The one prior to that was in 2012.
Catania said Chester City’srReceiver, Michael T. Doweary, has been “engaged full time in trying to sell the assets of Chester Water. The receiver’s been saying a lot of things publicly that’s not true. He’s been actively trying to sell the Chester Water Authority.”
ijay Kapoor, chief of staff for the receiver, shared the office’s priorities.
“The receiver is engaged full-time in trying to prevent the city’s police pension fund from running out of money to pay benefits early next year and developing a plan to ensure that vital and necessary services are provided to Chester residents,” he said. “The receiver’s team, which includes professionals from Public Financial Management who are experts in this area, is conducting its own independent due diligence into the question of whether or not to sell the assets. When that analysis is complete, we will make it public. The receiver has not made any decision regarding selling CWA assets.”
The CWA attorney said the authority tried to meet with the receiver shortly after his appointment in June but said Doweary is not open to discussing any other option than selling the authority.
Kapoor said this was untrue.
“The receiver, along with his counsel and the city’s solicitor, met once with the CWA chair and its solicitor several months ago in an introductory meeting,” he explained. “No such communication was made. Additionally, I testified under oath to the Commonwealth Court during the recovery plan hearing that the receiver’s team is conducting its own independent due diligence into the question of whether or not to sell the assets and explicitly represented to the court that a sale is not a foregone conclusion.”
After rejecting the initial unsolicited Aqua bid, CWA approached the City of Chester and offered it $60 million - an offer Catania claims has never received a response.
“Our offer is still on the table,” Catania said. “They wont even talk to us about that. There’s no good faith negotiation. The receiver has refused it.”
The receiver’s office said no decision has been made.
“As part of our independent due diligence efforts, the receiver’s team is just learning about the discussions between the CWA and the city that led to this offer,” Kapoor said. “We understand that the city and the CWA had extensive conversations, received assistance from a consulting firm, and considered different options during this period. We are still in the process of learning more. Again, the receiver has not made any decision regarding selling CWA assets.”
In addition, the CWA attorney said the push to have Aqua take over CWA has come from the gubernatorial level.
“Aqua’s been pursing us and the (Gov. Tom) Wolf administration has been helping them,” Catania said.
Rachel Wrigley, deputy director of communications for the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development, said, “The solicitor’s quote in reference to the administration is simply inaccurate.”
Aqua officials offered their response.
“The city issued an RFP process and Aqua was one of multiple bidders that replied,” Alston said. “Legal experts believe that the City of Chester is the legal owner of the assets of CWA and has the right to sell the assets.”
In fact, one of the multitude of legal wranglings is about to have oral arguments before the Commonwealth Court the week after the election. At issue is whether Chester City has the authority to terminate the authority on its own.
The CWA was formed in 1939 as a public, nonprofit organization to provide clean water and serves Chester City and parts of Delaware and Chester counties. The nine-member board is divided that three members are from Chester, three are from Delaware County outside of the city and three are from Chester County.