Mayor: Leaders willing to talk with company

The city expects to receive the results of a 100,000 study of its water system by mid-May.
YOUNGSTOWN -- City leaders are willing to "engage in intelligent discussions" with Aqua Ohio after the first phase of a water study done by the city is complete, Mayor Jay Williams said Friday in a letter to the company's president.
Williams added that any talks must be based on the public good, and not on "shortcomings or faulty premises."
Earlier this week, Aqua Ohio President Walter J. Pishkur sent a letter to Williams offering to buy Youngstown's water system for 50 million.
Pishkur also wrote that the city could lease the water system, as well as sell or lease its wastewater system.
The city isn't interested in selling or leasing either system, Williams wrote in the letter, which was also sent to city council members and the local press.
Study
"The city of Youngstown's water/wastewater system is not on the market," he wrote. "It is premature for us to discuss any options that involve the city's system prior to completion of a multi-phased study."
The city expects to receive the results of a 100,000 study of its water system by mid-May. The study will advise city leaders how its water distribution system could be a benefit in the formation of Joint Economic Development Districts with surrounding communities.
Pishkur also noted in his letter that the money from the sale of the water system could be used to fund community projects, lower the city's 2.75 percent income tax rate, create jobs and address the crime rate.
On Wednesday, Williams rejected those claims, and he said in his letter that Pishkur's ideas were based on "faulty premises."
"It is apparent that you understand how vital an asset Youngstown's system is as it relates to the success of not only the city but the greater metropolitan area," he wrote. "What is not quite as apparent, at least based on your letter is your appreciation of the city of Youngstown's water/wastewater system as a public asset; or our goals and objectives as it relates to using that public asset for public good."