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LAS VEGAS REVIEW JOURNAL PUBL l SHE D 9-^ 15—49 McNamee Tells \ Of Errors lii Water Parley Leo A. McNamee today denied be had any authority to speak for the Las Vegas Land & Water company on the subject of sale of their distribution facility here to the city of Las Vegas when the matter was discussed at a jueeting with the city commis­sion. last week. c ' “ At the conference in qraes - tion,” McNamee states, “ some­one asked the question: Why doesn’t the city buy the Land; and Water company?’ ” "I, as an individual, asked the general question as to whether or not the city was interested to (discussing the matter, and ex­pressly stated that I had no au-1 ihortty to speak for the water! company. “ One of the commissioners present stated'that the city would pe interested if the price was right. I remarked that I had read in a paper some months ago that one of the' Land and Water company officials had made some kind of a statement •relative to selling the waleT com-! patsy, and one of the commis­sioners remarked that the offi-i cial’s statement was only a gen­eral one and that no details^ had ever beien expressed, submitted or discussd. “ Someone then questioned as to the valuation of the Las Vegas Land & Water company, and someone else present, not I; stated that he had seen to a book­let where the Land and Water company was assessed at around $1,200,000. The book value of the company was not mentioned by anyone. i "There was no plan of any ! discussion of a plan to name a special committee for the pur-j pose of making an investigation j o f the feasibility of the project I of buying the Land & Water com­pany, nor was there any state­ment that the company was pre- I pared to send representatives for I the purpose of exploring or dis-. | cussing .the matter. I ? “ Since June; 1946, I have not I represented the Las Vegas Land | & Water company, except on one I special occasion- which had no J connection with the sale of its business.” "Commissioner B o b e r t T. ! Moore said this morning that a : committee probably would be ap­pointed Wednesday from among I the newly named citizen’s ad- I visory board to study the pro-j posed purchase of the water com- I pahy’s holdings here and that I he felt it was a step in the right I direction. “ Under the provisions of the | city charter and. the franchise I held by the utility, the property may,.,not be sold without the ciy of Las Vegas first being-given | an opportunity to purchase.