May 4, 2009

This doesn’t involve an overture to our enemies or a meeting with an unfriendly regime.

It’s simply an offer by Paul D. Vojtek, chief executive officer for Erie Water Works, to meet with the three Millcreek Township supervisors to discuss a plan for Erie Water Works to lease Millcreek’s water system.

Vojtek’s letter is dated April 22. First, Supervisors Joe Kujawa and Larry Curtis said they couldn’t comment on the letter until Supervisor Brian McGrath returned from vacation.

Now Kujawa says he is “disappointed” in the proposal. “They spent six months on this, and there’s nothing there: no terms, no costs. There are so many questions to be answered.”

We admit that the letter, just over two pages long, is skimpy on detail. Vojtek has stated that it’s a “conceptual” document. The idea is that Erie Water Works would lease the Millcreek system, manage the system and, “based upon preliminary evaluations,” provide the same rate structure to Millcreek customers that Erie customers currently use.

As it is now, customers of the Millcreek Water Authority pay, on average, 20 percent to 50 percent more than Erie Water Works customers. The Millcreek Water Authority serves about 7,000 customers. Erie Water Works serves about 10,000 customers in Millcreek. A citizens group, backed by several candidates for public office, has campaigned hard to get equal water rates for all water users in the township.

We’ve supported some kind of merger of the two water systems because it makes economic sense and meets our criteria for regional services.

Curtis realizes that the Erie Water Works letter is a starting point, not the final word. “This is a negotiating point.,” Curtis said. “We’ll do our due diligence. But we have to start someplace.”

That “someplace” will occur when Erie Water Works and Millcreek supervisors begin negotiations in earnest. There is no reason to be disappointed in the process at this point. Start talking. Keep talking. Get this deal into the pipeline.

Re-posted from goerie.com: Read the orignal post here