Cheney Moves Toward Public Water Ownership
Facing a long-running legal dispute, the city of Cheney strikes a deal to bring its water utility under public control.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
At a mass meeting of citizens in Cheney, Mayor Houck presented the question of city ownership of the water plant. The company has agreed to withdraw all suits against the city and sell the plant to the city for a set sum, provided the purchase be made within forty days. Mayor Houck and Mr. Pomeroy have already advanced a portion of this sum. Resolutions were passed that the council take steps to bond the city. Prominent business men will raise the money to buy the plant, pending the city's issue of bonds.
“The company has agreed to withdraw all suits against the city and sell the plant to the city.”
This 1903 struggle reflects the enduring civic tension between private utility ownership and municipal control, a debate that remains highly relevant in Washington State's modern debates over water rights and public infrastructure.
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