I'm asked all the time if I have time for a quick conversation.
That's my problem.
I really don't have any time.
This 24-hour news cycle means business. And it is exhausting.
But I have to give credit to the good folks from Aqua Pennsylvania. They are a persistent bunch.
Yesterday I finally had a chance to sit down with chairman and Chief Executive Officer Chris Franklin and his Director of Marketing and Communications Stacey Hadjak.
I kind of knew why they were here, and why the appreciated my offer to pen a piece for our op-ed page, but still wanted a sit-down, face-to-face with me.
They had a complaint.
Everybody does.
Actually, they could not have been more gracious. It took awhile, but they did have a message they wanted to deliver.
And it is good news if you happen to be a big fan of the Chester Water Authority.
You might remember back in 2017 Aqua made some waves when they made a $320 million offer to buy the company.
It did not sit well with workers and customers of Chester Water Authority, who flooded board meetings urging their bosses to reject the offer.
Aqua officials indicate that one of the reasons the offer came as a surprise was because they had tried - and failed - to get a sitdown with the Chester Water board. So they sent the letter with their offer. It didn't take it long to hit the press.
And it didn't take long for the backlash to start.
Chester Water is something of a local icon.
And I happen to have an interest in this story.
That's because I have a special connection with Chester Water, which provides sparkling water for the city of Chester, as well as a slew of other municipalities in both Delaware and Chester counties.
So what's my connection?
It's a story I have told hundreds of times in my tenure here at the Daily Times. Every time I meet someone who gets their water from Chester Water Authority, I always ask them if they know where that lovely water actually comes from when they turn on their taps.
It comes from the Octoraro Reservoir, right outside the little town of Oxford where I grew up. It is piped all the way here to Delaware County, basically following a path alongside Baltimore Pike.
I can't tell you how many times I have been chased out of the reservoir for doing things I should not have been doing as a kid.
At first Franklin talked about how the offer came about and Aqua's mission. When customers screamed about the potential takeover and their fear of rate hikes, Aqua actually countered with a pledge not to raise rates for 10 years. They also guaranteed all those jobs.
All of this has a lot to do with the city of Chester and its seemingly perpetual fiscal problems.
The city is under a mandate to emerge from Act 47 distressed status, where they have resided for more than a decade.
The revenue from the possible sale of the water company was seen - in particular by the consulting firm hired by the state to oversee the city's finances - as a possible way out.
When the Chester Water board rejected Aqua's offer, the city talked about their legal right to sell. It sounded like all this was headed to court.
Then there was the suggestion that the company could be split, allowing the city to sell off their share, while the other municipalities could continue as usual.
The latest we've heard from the city is that the plan now is to use other revenue to get out of Act 47. They now believe they can do that without the sale or breaking up Chester Water.
I have my doubts. Interestingly enough, Econsult has not had all that much to say on the topic.
In the meantime, Franklin was here to deliver a message.
Two of them, actually.
First, he wondered why Aqua continued to get something of a black eye in our coverage of Chester Water. He pointed out the offer was made back in 2017.
Then he delivered some news.
Aqua, at least for right now, is no longer interested in purchasing Chester Water Authority. They've moved on. In fact, just in the past few weeks they've bought Peoples, a natural gas company near Pittsburgh.
They remain the colossus of Pa. water companies.
But yesterday I was able to put a face on that corporate front.
Chris Franklin is good at his job.
He delivered his message.
What does the future hold for Chester Water Authority? I don't know.
I just know that it - and the Octoraro Reservoir - will always hold a special place in my heart.
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