At the annual meeting of the Howell Mountain Mutual Water Company this week, President Gilbert Muth advised the Board of Directors to put the proposal to purchase the St. Helena Hospital water system on the back burner and turn off the gas.

In a more complete statement to the Save Angwin Water Committee after the meeting, Muth said that the proposal should be "buried" and that he would not put it on the Board agenda again as long as he was president.

Water company members had expressed heated opposition to the purchase, most recently by electing three new members to the Board who had campaigned against the idea.

Incoming Board Member Adam Pease made a lucid presentation against the purchase, with an impressive array of statistics, at the annual meeting. It capsuled the Save Angwin Water Committee's analysis of the financial weaknesses of the purchase.

Unification on existing problems is now the order of the day.

Pease stated the position of the new Board members: "My hope is that we can cut the costs of the company, stabilize water rates, have an open and transparent system of accounting and governance, and start making prudent financial choices to improve the physical plant,"

President Muth expressed the same theme "I am hopeful that we can bury the hatchet on the Hospital issue and spend profitable time providing reliable, high-quality water at as low a price as possible."

The argument, pro and con, over the Hospital purchase extended over a two-year period.

In a statement to the Save Angwin Water Committee, President Gilbert Muth listed the problems facing the Howell Mountain Mutual Water Company.

"First, the good news. I think we have significant new talent on the board with a fresh perspective. Hogan and Ermshar have training in the financial area and their career has been tied up with working with finances. Pease and Crain bring significant practical experience because of their business success over the years. We haven't had this much financial prowess on the board ever. We have some serious financial decisions to make and we need to do it very soon.

"Second, we need to seriously pursue grant funding to replace old pipes and fix dams. Although Measure A will no doubt do a lot for us, who knows when that will happen. Besides, Measure A will in no way take care of all our needs. We seriously need to get the Community Development Block Grant so as to have the baseline document required by government granting agencies. In grant writing, we need to use consultants who know the agencies, what they are looking for in the grant proposal, and are able to do the politicing necessary to get the grant. Even though many of us on the board could write the grants I think we will be more successful by hiring a consultant for this.

"Third, we have the ongoing problem of pollution and potential pollution of our pristine water supply by agricultural activities and wineries in our watershed. The Pringle Vineyard "blowout" is a prime example of this. We need to be vigilant and continue pressing the issue with the Supervisors to get legislated protection for our watershed. This is the only water for a lot of people in our community.

"Fourth, are the dams. The California Division of Dam Safety has been very kind toward us. However, we have two dams that are out of compliance and need repair -- Deer Lake and Lake Orville. Dick Crain, with his experience and knowledge is a very good resource here.

"Fifth, the Department of Health Services is requiring that we have settling ponds for our filter backwash effluent. We are nearly overdue on this issue. We need to have a plan for this and execute it as soon as possible.

"These are some of the issues that the board will need to face in the future. The talent is there for weighing the evidence and making good decisions. The unknown is how we will all work together because of the polarization that has occured over the last couple of years.

"If we can truly bury the St. Hospital acquisition proposal, or at least keep it on the back burner with the gas turned off, we can then spend our time dealing with the issues above. As long as I am president of the board it will not appear on the agenda. The only way it would have to be put on the agenda is if a group of members forced the issue. So, I am hopeful that we can bury the hatchet on the Hospital issue and spend profitable time providing reliable, high quality water at as low a price as possible.

"We all need to tread softly with one another. We are all "us" now and because of our adversarial relationship in the past it is hard to trust one another. We need to work 100% on both sides to restore that trust. Without that, we will really accomplish very little for the water company and the community whom we serve."