An Intervenor's Reasons

As a resident of Grantham NH, a US citizen and member of the Village District of Eastman (VDE) I filed as an intervenor in the proposed action of the VDE to acquire the Eastman Sewer Company (ESC). My primary reasons for filing as an intervenor are:

1. Beginning in February 2013 I submitted a written request to the VDE commissioners for a proper buyers’ Due Diligence which would include a thorough and open independent financial evaluation including an income and expense review of the sewer company's current financial capital and operational health performed by an independent accounting firm with concurrence on the selected firm by the Coalition of Sewer Users.
2. An independent and respected engineering firm’s comprehensive assessment of all existing ESC capital, all known future state and federal requirements that could necessitate additional capital funding for the next five years with concurrence on the selected firm by the coalition of Sewer Users.
3. The vast majority of the sewer system capital infrastructure is more than 40 years old and past its useful life.  An independent five-year forward capital plan (2014-2018) is needed, developed with an equal partnership on the part of the coalition of Sewer Users.

The list of exhibits I submitted and the inadequate VDE commissioners’ response is detailed as part of my submission to the PUC. I repeated my requests several times in February, March, April and May. It concludes with a denial of my request on June 9, 2013. (See at http://goo.gl/81OEf9).

It is my perspective that the actions of the VDE commissioners and the VDE general manager are more consistent with what one would expect of a seller’s agent. As a member of the buyer’s group VDE, I want my elected officials to represent my buyer’s interest just as almost all homebuyers expect the home inspector they hire to represent their interest as does every individual who hires a CPA  or a financial advisor expect them to represent their individual interests.

Submitted by Robert Logan

PUC musings

The NH Public Utilities Commission (PUC) by law, requires a “public” hearing before it releases its oversight of a utility such as the Eastman Sewer Company. Part of the process of this public hearing is for questions to be asked not only by the public but also by the PUC commissioners to the Eastman Sewer Company and by extension ECA as the owner and also to the VDE. Even if no members of the public asked any questions, there would be delays and lawyers to pay to try to facilitate this transaction. Do the ECA/ESC/VDE need lawyers for this? Probably not. The questions are not that difficult and they know the answers.

I am not a sewer user but a section of pipe crosses my property and as an ECA member I am a part owner of the sewer company. Members may recall that there was a concern raised by Council and other members of the governance that the lake was in danger if needed repairs were not done soon. As the pipe that crosses my land in within 40 feet of the lake, I assumed it had been monitored over the years if there truly was concern over the lake. I was wrong—after more than 12 years of ownership ECA had done very little and as for the pipe that runs from West Cove to South Cove, very close to the lake, there is little information on its condition. In filing as an intervenor, I have presented the following questions: