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The transfer of ownership of the privately held Quentin Water Company to the West Cornwall Township Municipal Authority is nearing completion.
Supervisors approved Monday an additional $50,000 loan to help with the authority’s purchase of the Quentin Water Company for $1 million. Next step: Transfer of the deed to the authority on June 28.
“It will be the same water company personnel, just a different name on the deed,” said Jeff Steckbeck, manager of the municipal authority, in a telephone interview before the meeting.
The median increase in water bills will be about $40 per quarter or $160 a year due to the debt the authority has acquired for the purchase, he added.
The sale of the Quentin Water Company first surfaced in October 2021 when Rick Heisey, Quentin Water Company board member, approached the municipal authority, according to authority minutes. Founded in the 1940s, the company was owned by stockholders, the majority of whom no longer wanted to operate the company, said Steckbeck, who also serves as the municipal authority’s engineer.
In April 2022, the authority’s board secured a $1 million loan for the purchase of the company and filed an application with the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) for the transfer of assets. The PUC approved the sale in May.
The water system currently serves 345 customers, most of whom live west of State Route 72 in the village of Quentin. Its three wells are permitted to pump 115,000 gallons per day. Current usage averages about 65,000 gallons per day, Steckbeck said.
Two development plans in the approval pipeline—an apartment complex and retirement homes—will draw down that excess capacity. But the increase in customers also is likely to decrease quarterly bills, Steckbeck said.
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