Mayor-elect cool to Aqua Ohio's proposal to buy Youngstown's water system

Staff report

YOUNGSTOWN

Aqua Ohio delivered a letter of interest today to Mayor John A. McNally for the purchase of the city’s water-distribution system.

The system, Aqua said, is valued at $50 million.

“We see the challenges facing the city and believe we can offer an attractive solution,” Aqua Ohio President Ed Kolodziej said in a statement.

“We hope that this letter begins a dialogue that provides both the current and incoming administrations with a new option to address the city’s important priorities.”

In response to the offer, McNally, whose term expires Dec. 31, said: “Quite frankly, we’ll let the next administration handle it.”

Mayor-elect Jamael Tito Brown said he’ll look at the proposal, but isn’t that interested in it. That’s because, he said, the city makes $32 million a year on its water system.

Aqua Ohio is one of the largest regulated water utilities in the state – currently serving 50,000 residents within the Mahoning Valley and 500,000 residents throughout the state. The company employs more than 50 people locally.

Among the areas that use Aqua water are Struthers, Lowellville, Poland Village and New Middletown and portions of Beaver, Boardman, Coitsville, Canfield, Poland Township and Springfield in Mahoning County; Brookfield and Hubbard townships in Trumbull County; and Lake Tomahawk in Columbiana County.

Read more about the proposal in Saturday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.