OPEN LETTER FROM SPACE PRESIDENT RE: SUEZ WATER RATE HIKE TO BE DISCUSSED AT NEXT WEEK’S STONY POINT BOARD MEETING

Dear Supervisor Monaghan & Stony Point Town Board,

As a follow-up to my phone conversation with Supervisor Monaghan re: the pending SUEZ rate hike, I want to request three things:

1. At Stony Point Town Board meeting on Tuesday, June 14 at 7 p.m.:
I have requested to be placed on the meeting agenda as I plan to make a presentation to the public at the next Town Board meeting and respond to Q&As re: the Suez rate hike public hearing which, as you know, will be held in the RHO building the next day, on Wednesday, June 15, beginning at 2 p.m. and at 6 p.m. My reason for asking to be placed on the agenda is that it is important information for the residents of the Town of Stony Point. I want my presentation to be an official part of the meeting and I would prefer to have this publicized to the public on the agenda if possible and not just listed as generic pubic comment. I urge all Stony Point residents to attend the meeting and PSC hearing the following day.

2. PSC provided late notice of hearing to the public:
The Town Board knows of my concerns re: the late notification of this meeting, the fact that Suez has done little for public outreach and placed one of the two required 1/4 page display ads in the Journal News only yesterday, Monday, June 6. SUEZ chose to run the ad on a Monday, the day of the week with the lowest reader circulation days of the newspaper. Suez chose not to run the ad the day before, on Sunday, June 5, the highest volume circulation day.

3. Resolution for the Town of Stony Point to join the Rockland Municipal Consortium:
At the last Stony Point Town Board meeting on May 24, Dan Duthie, the attorney who is representing the Rockland Municipal Consortium, made an appearance with me before the town board and we requested that the Town of Stony Point join the Rockland Municipal Consortium, including the towns of Clarkstown, Orangetown, Ramapo and the Village of West Haverstraw to hire Dan Duthie together to represent the financial interests of the residential and commercial water ratepayers in Stony Point. I have known and worked with Dan Duthie on the Rockland Water Coalition for several years. He is a very well respected attorney with over 30 years experience before the PSC. He is also very knowledgable of all aspects of this PSC rate case since he had a proven track record representing Rockland ratepayers and municipal governments in our successful fight to stop the Haverstraw Water Supply Project Hudson River Desalination Plant.

If we had not successfully stopped the Haverstraw desalination plant, it would have been built and operating today, our water rates would have already doubled and we would all be drinking Hudson River water from a plant today. Now, Suez is back and the company wants to charge Rockland ratepayers for $54.5 million in expenses Suez claims that United Water spent in the development for a desalination plant that was not needed, not approved and never built. I am writing now to request that the Stony Point Town Board vote on a resolution opposing the hike.

Sincerely,

George Potanovic Jr.
President, Stony Point Action Committee for the Environment (SPACE)
Member, Rockland Water Coalition
Member, Rockland Water Task Force