(October 4) Curt Emick is seeking a reelection this year, hoping Apple Valley’s voters will grant him a second term on the city council.
Emick, who is standing for reelection along with Scott Nassiff and Barb Stanton, said he is running “to continue the partnership we have going now. We are trying to find a solution to our water problems. We are working to bring the cost of water in Apple Valley into line with what people are paying elsewhere. I want to continue where we are going on this, working as a whole community. I see the things we are doing in the high desert as a positive. We are working well together.”
Emick reiterated his concern about water when he was asked what the major issues facing the town are.
“Currently, the cost of water is a huge issue,” he said. “We need water and we also need to build our water treatment plant, our sewer facilities, so we can reclaim water for use at our golf course and parks.”
Progress has been made on another pressing issue but needs to be followed through on, Emick said.
“We have begun work on the Yucca Loma Bridge, so we can have an east-to-west corridor all the way to the 15 Freeway,” he said. “We have spent money and obtained grant money and the bridge is under construction, but it only goes part way. We filed for a federal grant. The grant came in but it was short. It worked to help us get as far as we did. The road over the bridge will eventually go to Ridgecrest and Bear Valley Road. Our end of it is on the way to being completed, but now Victorville will have to take up the slack for it to go all the way through. We are working with Victorville and SANBAG [San Bernardino Associated Governments, i.e., the county transportation agency] to speed up the process. SANBAG has scheduled to do that by 2020. We are trying to get the money much quicker than that.”
With regard to the water dilemma, Emick said “What we need to do is bring multiple agencies and partners together and look for a solution. That is being worked upon as we speak. As far as the cost of water goes, it is really hard when you have a private company that is guaranteed a 9.9 percent profit. The money is not going for infrastructure. It is going somewhere else. The community is conserving water because of the drought and at the same time is getting penalized. That  9.9 percent  will disappear and local people will have no recourse. We have to look seriously at creating a municipal water division. We did a survey and asked if people want local control over water through their own water company. The answer was overwhelmingly yes. We have public support. We have infrastructure issues coming forward. We are working on those.”
Emick said he is seeking reelection because, “I think over the last three years I’ve done a great job. Most of the things I’ve done in the background haven’t had a whole lot of attention, but I put several people together in ways that worked. We needed a cell phone tower in town. The sheriff couldn’t communicate with his deputies all the way around town. I got [former county supervisor] Brad Mitzelfel, the sheriff and Verizon to work on communications and within six months had a cell phone tower in what I consider to be the more important part of town. Now cell phones work there. I did that without spending tax money. I brought a musical production to town so people can have wholesome events. These are put on by a sponsor. Others followed the example and now we have several musical events every year. These are things I have accomplished the last four years and I believe I can continue that. When I was mayor last year we had a meeting of mayors in the High Desert. We made every attempt to stop the closure of the courts. We need to preserve the court system.”
Raised in Whittier, Emick graduated form Lowell High School and attended the University of the Pacific in Stockton. He is a pharmacist. Married, he has four children.