Editor:

At the public meeting with Norm Labbe of the KKWWD on June 22 questions were raised – by representative Chris Babbidge, among others – about the apparent imbalances, inequities, if you will, between the rights provided to the individual contractors in the contract of KKWWD with Poland Spring/Nestle. The explanation given was that Poland Spring/Nestle was making the investment and that it is not unusual for the risker of investment to extract some privilege. I would answer that the investment in this agreement is much greater for the KKWWD and the towns it serves than for either Poland Spring or Nestle. Since Poland Spring is owned by Nestle, it’s entirely appropriate to consider the resources of Poland Spring as those of Nestle.

Nestle employed internationally 276,000 employees in 2007, compared with the population of 30,000 to 40,000 in the communities served by KKWWD. KKWWD undertook the negotiation for this contract because the $500,000 to $750,000 annual income looked awfully good to it. Nestle’s sales grossed over $95.6 billion in 2007. That’s more than $261,900,000 a day. The attraction for KKWWD for this contract is minutes of income for Nestle. KKWWD’s investment is control over the use of 3 to 4 percent of their mandated valuable resource for 55 years.

It seems a better reason that the contract is unfairly imbalanced is that small outfits do not do well negotiating with giants, particularly when the small organizations are community-oriented and volunteer-run. The KKWWD has been a gem of a community institution, as reflected in the quality of our water sources, despite having had to resort, at a low moment not far in the past, to taking water from Biddeford to supplement the legendary Branch Brook. I’m confident that the trustees will overcome the lure of the siren song of big money and international derring-do, reject this contract, and proceed to work with the community to protect it legislatively from further exploitive proposals (which will come) by large outside corporations.

Lyman A. Page, M.D.

Kennebunkport