A public meeting of the Valley Public Service Authority is set to occur tonight, with officials expected to discuss a proposal for a takeover of the Graniteville water system.
The meeting will be at 6 p.m. at Gloverville Elementary School on Pine Street in Gloverville.
State Rep. Roland Smith, R-Warrenville, said he, state Sen. Shane Massey, a Republican who represents the 25th District, including Aiken, and state Rep. Tom Young, R-Aiken, will attend the meeting to "gently encourage" the Valley Public Service to agree to run the Graniteville system, which is currently overseen by Avondale Mills.
Mr. Smith said Avondale has wanted to get out of the water service business. The issue of water service provided by Avondale became a heated topic after Graniteville and Vaucluse residents received much higher water and sewer bills on Friday.
Residents said some bills were hundreds of dollars more than normal.
Mr. Smith said that he's been getting many calls from residents angry with the increase and that a takeover of the system by Valley Public Service "is the best resolution. It's a win-win for the community."
Mr. Smith said the hope is that Valley Public Service would enact rates that would be less than that of Avondale's revised costs.
Calvin Smith, general manager of the Valley Public Service Authority, said he doesn't expect the authority to vote one way or the other on the topic tonight. He said they will be discussing the latest in negotiations with Avondale, which have been ongoing for the past six weeks and so far haven't resulted in an agreement.
He said tonight's meeting is not meant for public comment from those upset about the higher Graniteville water rates.
A meeting on that topic is set to occur at 7 p.m. Thursday at Langley Church of God, 2444 Jefferson Davis Highway, in Graniteville.
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I thought that the high rates were a ploy for Avondale to be able to dump the system. Now there is a fallacy in the last sentence. The rates cannot be "in line with residents' past bills" because the past rates were ridiculously low and did not cover expenses of operating the system.
The people of The Valley should be glad they have indoor plumbing.
Public Service Commission in Columbia file a complaint against Avondale Mills Inc. Let them know we only received notices for scheduled meetings at Byrd Elementary and then those meetings were cancelled. Let them know you aren't responsible for the bad business practices of Avondale Mills. Let them know Avondale should be responsible for fixing a system they have always known wasn't in good enough shape to run from the day they took it over. Let them know we aren't going to bail out another american company. 18009221531 press 0 for the operator and tell her you want to file a complaint against Avondale Mills Inc. Call the public service commission today and let them know you won't pay for Avondale's mistakes.Please attend the meeting tonight it's important. The commission in columbia were shocked this morning when i told them the amounts of the bills we received.
Those of you who are still glad that you voted against incorporation raise your hands...
The Graniteville company took good care of that community, now that it's gone, what little bit of Graniteville that still speaks English as its first language is letting their town fall apart. Looks like Detroit of the south.
Does anybody know what the "Valley Public Service Authority" is?
If you're running for county council and you threaten constituents with ugly threats raise your hand.