STPUD Board

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - There are three open seats on the South Tahoe Public Utility Board of Directors this election season, two for a four-year term and one for a two-year term.

South Tahoe Now reached out to the candidates and below are their answers to a set of questions. For the two four-year terms, incumbent Kelly Sheehan is running for reelection, Duane Wallace is running after being appointed to fill Jim Jones's spot on the board until this election, and they are joined by David Peterson.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - – The South Tahoe Public Utility District (STPUD) Board of Directors adopted a temporary COVID-19 Rate Relief Program during their last meeting to assist residents and businesses that are facing financial hardship due to the pandemic. This new program offers a 50 percent credit to one quarterly sewer bill for customers in need.

“This pandemic has impacted some in our community more than others,” said STPUD Board Presdient Randy Vogelgesang. “We felt that we needed to do our part to help our customers who need it the most.”

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - There will be a special board meeting for the South Tahoe Public Utility District (STPUD) on Thursday, June 11 starting at 9:00 a.m. to discuss who will fill the remainder of Jim Jones's term.

Jones, a longtime member of the board, passed away on May 7.

Nine residents filled out an application and expressed a desire to be the temporary board member until December 2020. Jones's seat would have been up for election in November.

The South Tahoe Public Utility District board meeting has been moved to July 3 at 9:00 a.m. since their normally scheduled meeting for the first Thursday of the month fell on the 4th of July.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - South Tahoe Public Utility District (STPUD) will start the process to raise water service rates by up to six percent and sewer rates by up to five percent in order to start replacing aging pipes and providing improved fire flow throughout their service area. If fully implemented, this increase would fuel an $81.5M capital improvement program for sewer improvements, and $70M for water system improvements, especially fire flow projects.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - After Richard Solbrig told the South Tahoe Public Utility District (STPUD) Board of Directors he was retiring in January 2019 after 29 years with the agency the hunt was on for a new general manager.

It turned out they didn't have to look far.

John Thiel had been hired by Solbrig in 1992 as a staff engineer and he worked his way up through the ranks over the last 27 years until the Board chose him as the new general manager.

A 26-year veteran at the South Tahoe Public Utility District (STPUD) has been hired as the next general manager. John Thiel, P.E., will be taking over for Richard Solbrig who will be retiring in January after almost 15 years at the helm.

The STPUD Board of Directors voted to hire Thiel during a closed session meeting last week.

My name is Nick Exline and I am asking for your vote on November 6th for the South Tahoe Public Utility District (STPUD) Board as I will bring a higher level of commitment, leadership and vision to the STPUD Board.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - On Thursday, the South Tahoe Public Utility District (STPUD) Board of Directors discussed changing their administrative code to allow for the transfer of sewer and water units from one parcel to another in order to encourage the building of affordable housing projects.

Since 2012, the transfer of the sewer units have not been allowed by STPUD, but with the current lack of affordable housing on the South Shore the board will look to approve a change of the code at their September 20, 2018 meeting.

The night before football tryouts in the 9th grade I can still hear the advice my father gave to me before I tried, but failed, to get a good night’s sleep. He didn’t comfort me to tell me I would make the team, or tell me how great I was, he simply told me, “the only thing you can control, is that you can outwork everyone else.” This advice had an impact on me and ultimately led to everything positive in my life.

Besides openings on the Lake Tahoe Unified School District, Lake Tahoe Community College Board, South Lake Tahoe City Council, Tahoe Paradise Park Board, El Dorado County Board of Supervisors this November, there will also be three openings on the South Tahoe Public Utility District (STPUD) five-member board.

From July 16 to August 10, those interested in being on the STPUD board must file for candidacy. That deadline is extended to August 15 if an incumbent fails to file for their term prior by the earlier deadline. The incumbent is not allowed to file after August 10.

The public is invited to a budget meeting of the South Tahoe Public Utility District (STPUD) Board of Directors on Thursday, May 4 from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. in the STPUD board room at 1275 Meadow Crest Drive in South Lake Tahoe.

The purpose of the meeting is to review the proposed 2017-18 budget and ten-year financial and capital improvement plan for the District.

I would like to congratulate Randy and Kelly on retaining their seats on the South Tahoe Public Utility Board. I am certain that their future decisions will be in the best interest of our community. I also commend Kirk David for running in this campaign.

My family and I put many hours into this campaign and I hope that at least I was able to spread some awareness about the STPUD Board and the decisions they and our community face.

I am very thankful to my family, friends and everyone who supported, encouraged and voted for me during this campaign.

Dear South Lake Tahoe Community,

I first met Nick Exline at an event where we had the opportunity to meet Democratic congressional candidate Dr. Bob Derlet. Nick asked about carbon markets and the related benefits to our Sierra Nevada economy. As a watershed scientist, I was impressed by Nick’s informed and thoughtful question. I enjoyed meeting a South Lake Tahoe resident who possessed a strong background in environmental science, as well as a thoughtful man who had ideas about how we could turn our largest obstacles in this region into economic successes for our residents.

Location

I am endorsing Randy Vogelgesang for reelection to the STPUD Board. Randy is a long time local, having lived in the South Lake Tahoe community for 30 years raising a family with his wife, Cathy, and running a successful engineering firm as a small business owner. During the twenty years that I have known Randy and his family, I appreciate the honesty and integrity he has always displayed both personally and professionally.

I am lucky to have lived in South Lake Tahoe for 9 years and grateful to be raising my children in such a wonderful place. I received a Masters Degree in Land Use Planning from UNR and am currently a solution oriented AICP, Senior Planner at Midkiff & Associates. My commitment to community service led me to the Leadership Lake Tahoe program, board membership with the Tahoe Drug Free Coalition, the Chamber Government Affairs Committee and the fight against climate change.

Over half of the state of California are in severe to exceptional drought conditions, but things are as bad as they were just a year ago when most of the Western United States were experiencing those same drought conditions.

Dear voters,

I’m hoping you will send a message by voting for me to work for you on the South Tahoe Public Utility District Board. I’ve been a local 40 years, through droughts, storms, power outages and great sunny powder ski days.

At 21, I opened Happy Steak Restaurant and owned it for 16 years. I was CEO of the California based South Lake Tahoe Chamber for 12 years and I taught Business and Personnel at LTCC. I have a BA in business administration and I’m a graduate of the Institute for Organization Management. I’m a past STPUD Board member.

Voters on Tuesday approved Measure R and two new South Tahoe Public Utility directors. Measure R won approval by 70 percent. It expands the South Lake Tahoe Recreational Facilities Joint Powers Authority's use of Measure S funds to include the renovation of bike trails and makes improvements to ball fields. Go here for the story and here for the results.

South Tahoe Public Utility District board members are expected to be given a report at their next meeting about an investigation into whether board President Dale Rise created a hostile work environme...