History, Voting Records Favor City Water Board

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History, voting records favor city water board Page 2 of 3 against making the water board a city department and 2,755 for the plan. Is council headed down that road again? Council approved a proposed ballot question on first reading Monday night that would give the city final approval over any sale of surplus water to outside residents by the water board. A public hearing and final consideration is scheduled for July 8. The public vote on the ballot amendment would settle once again the question of whether Pueblo taxpayers want an independent water board to manage the city's water. John Ladd said there was no mistake in 1954, when a special commission drafted the current city charter. Ladd, 90, is the only surviving member of that commission. "I think council is nuts to try this," Ladd said Tuesday. "Considerable thought and planning went into the charter convention's decision to keep the water board independent of the city. Water is a specialized subject and it takes a long time to understand the issues involved. Council doesn't have the time to do it and the water board does_ Voters shouldn't monkey with a system that's worked for 50 years." The issue came to head last November when the water board asked council to approve a contract to sell surplus water to Pueblo West. Traditionally, council has approved those contract requests but rejected that one, saying the water board would be providing water to a competing community without charging enough to benefit city residents. The water board filed suit shortly afterwards, arguing that the charter language is explicit, calling for an independently elected water board "over which council shall have no jurisdiction or control, but shall adopt all ordinances requested by the board which shall be reasonably necessary to assist the board in the management of the water works system." Council's position is that language calls for council to make a determination on what contracts are reasonable for running the water system, implying the city's ultimate authority. In the Pueblo West case, a majority on council was explicit that water is one of the city's best assets for attracting growth and that non -city customers should pay a premium to use it - encouraging more growth in the city. The water board countered that it has a responsibility to city ratepayers to sell surplus water when possible to keep down the cost of the city water system. Howard "Bud" Whitlock served on both council and the water board, particularly during the years when the water board purchased the water rights to serve a city of 300,000 people. Whitlock, 78, said he was skeptical that Pueblo could affect Pueblo West's growth by withholding water or charging expensive prices for it. "I think Pueblo West is going to do its own thing and acquire the water it needs from some source," he said. "The board has a surplus amount of and that water ought to be put to a beneficial use, like leasing it to communities that need it" Whitlock said he sympathized with council's desire to try and control the water board. That desire has cropped up periodically because the water board receives considerable revenue and council would like to have both the money and the control over city water supplies, Whitlock said. http: /lwww.chieftain.com/print /archive /2002/june /2b /nil.htm 7/7/2002 E•d 82T809261L IaNSTW '3 PToJeH eO 60 20 80 InL