Eastsound Water Association updates and annual meeting notice

Substantial positive progress has been made over the last few years, some of which will be highlighted in a 30-minute presentation by me, your General Manager, Dan Burke. We invite you to join and learn more about the people and good work that has been accomplished on your behalf, and what is planned for the years ahead (a video recording of the presentation will be available on the Association’s website following the meeting).

The Annual Meeting will culminate with the election of two new directors. Our by-laws provide that two or three Directors be elected each year and with staggered terms. Two Directors (Scott Lancaster and Rick Christmas) will be up for re-election this fall. Any member having an interest in serving on the Board may submit their name and provide a bio or resume or statement of relevant work history and experience on our website.

Nominees for Director positions shall be submitted to the Association between October 10^th, and 12 noon on October 20^th, 2023, to be considered a candidate for the Board of Directors. Ballots for voting will be distributed by mail to all Members once the nomination period has closed. All ballots and proxies must be returned to the Association Office at 286 Enchanted Forest Road B102, Eastsound, WA 98245 by 12 noon, November 10^th, 2023. 

Please note that Eastsound Water Users Association elects to proceed under the rules provided in RCW 24.03A.405(6). Any member seeking a membership list of the corporation shall comply with those rules.

For Further information, and to become a candidate for the Board of Directors, please check out the Association’s website for all the latest details: 

EASTSOUND WATER USERS ASSOCIATION
2024 Board Transition Plan

Dear Members,

The Eastsound Water Board of Directors is committed and has always been committed to the best interests of our members. That includes delivering safe, high-quality water to our community and ensuring the health and well-being of the Association and the employees who work on your behalf. 

Your Board consists of seven volunteer, unpaid Directors. Three Directors (Jim Nelson, Clyde Duke, and Joe Cohen) have served over eight years, and one Director has served over four years (Scott Lancaster). Two Directors (Ron Clause and Michael Cleveland) were newly elected and joined the Board effective January 2023. One Director (Rick Christmas) was recently appointed to the Board.  

There are a number of operational and technical challenges, industry dynamics, and nuances faced by Board Directors that require a fair amount of institutional knowledge to be effectively actionable. Therefore, continuity of leadership and an every-evolving onboarding and education process is vital to the health of the organization. 

The Board has discussed in prior years how to create a transition from the existing Board to new leadership, with considerations for balancing generational and institutional knowledge with better representation, inclusion and diversity. Several existing Directors are planning to transition off the Board in the coming years, and they would like to do this with the least disruption to services and the health of the organization. 

Below is a list of the current Directors and their respective terms:

Election 2023 (this November):

Lancaster        Finishing Term: Membership Elects New Director 
Christmas       Finishing Term: Membership Elects New Director

Election 2024:

Nelson             Finishing Term: Membership Elects New Director 
Duke                Finishing Term: Membership Elects New Director
Cohen              Stepping Down: Board Appoints New Director 

Election 2025:

Appointee        Up for Re-election 
Claus                Up for Re-election
Cleveland        Up for Re-election

This plan cannot be effective, however, without members who are willing to step forward. This fall we will be holding our annual elections for two new Directors. It is our hope that we will find new members to help lead the Association into the coming generations. And if not this year, maybe consider next year, as we will have new openings then. Either way, it has never been more exciting to learn about the water business and your local water organization. We urge you to get involved if this kind of community service interests you. 

Thank you for your consideration and please reach out to your Board with any questions about the role or the business. 

– The EWUA Board of Directors
 

If you haven’t checked it out, please review our amazing 2022 Consumer Confidence Report! We send these reports annually to our customers so you can see how your local water system measures up. We are proud of the results and are excited to bring your the best water possible to your homes and businesses. Read our 2022 Consumer Confidence Report online now: 

I am sure you are all aware that a former terminated Board member, and a second former Director, has emailed our members several times with unsubstantiated and misleading information about the Association. That action, and their continued actions, have put unnecessary financial and emotional stress on our small staff and volunteer Board, who have been working diligently to be transparent and share information with the public, where legally permitted, and maintain our fiduciary and operational duties, which are complex and important. 

Our focus still remains on delivering the best quality water to our members, and to honor our legal and moral obligations to our membership, which includes updating members on Association progress, changes, or news that affects them; being as transparent as possible within our legal limits on matters of the Association; and stewarding us into the future. 

We do anticipate spending more on professional services in the future as they persist, so please read more about this topic on our website:

Your Board of Directors have reviewed our existing Bylaws with the Association’s legal counsel and has been in the process of updating them to comply with new laws and current industry standards. Please tune in to the discussion underway with the membership. You can learn more about these proposed bylaw updates online: 

In the past year-and-a-half the Association has been implementing a thoughtful strategy to increase the long-term stability of Eastsound Water. This has had the great benefit of bringing more revenue home to fund capital projects and to reduce our rates, while creating more reliability for thousands of additional islanders.

Eastsound Water took over the daily management of the Doe Bay, Olga and three Rosario water systems with great success in 2022. By taking on these systems, we have been able to provide reliability to all of these systems by onboarding new operators here at home. In the process, we have gained new tools and certifications, and more experience in a range of diverse work situations. All of this has elevated the quality of our staff, our work-life balance, and has increased our redundancy and resiliency overall. In the past year we have expanded our reach from about 1,800 people to over 4,000 islanders, and at a positive net margin.

We have also expanded our tiny team of six full-time employees (three Operators, two Admin and a GM) just a few years ago – to a bright and proud group of eleven (eight Operators, two Admin and a GM). And we are currently housing a portion of them and their families.

We look forward to sharing more about these topics and other topics at our Annual Meeting. We look forward to seeing you all there! Thank you for your time and for being a valued Eastsound Water member.