DSRSD Board Sets Officers and Committee Assignments for 2014

The Dublin San Ramon Services District (DSRSD) Board of Directors has elected Georgean M. Vonheeder-Leopold as president and Edward R. Duarte as vice president for 2014. The five-member board also includes Directors Dawn L. Benson, Richard M. Halket, and D.L. (Pat) Howard. 

At the Dec. 17, 2013 meeting, Vonheeder-Leopold announced 2014 assignments for board standing committees, joint powers authorities (JPAs), and liaisons with other public agencies. Standing board committee assignments are as follows:

·         External Affairs: Benson and Duarte

·         Finance: Halket and Vonheeder-Leopold

·         Personnel: Benson and Duarte

·         Wastewater: Halket and Howard

·         Water: Howard and Vonheeder-Leopold

Water Committee members Howard and Vonheeder-Leopold will serve as delegates to the board of the DSRSD-EBMUD Recycled Water Authority (DERWA) JPA, which produces and distributes recycled water for commercial irrigation through the San Ramon Valley Recycled Water Program. Howard and Vonheeder-Leopold also will liaise with Zone 7 Water Agency, the district’s wholesale water supplier. Wastewater Committee members  Halket and Howard will serve as delegates to the board of the Livermore Amador Valley Water Management Agency (LAVWMA) JPA, which is comprised of DSRSD and the cities of Livermore and Pleasanton. LAVWMA pipelines convey treated wastewater from the member agencies’ treatment plants to a deep water outfall in the San Francisco Bay. Wastewater committee members also will liaise with the City of Pleasanton. DSRSD contracts with Pleasanton to treat that city’s wastewater. External Affairs Committee members Benson and Duarte will liaise with the cities of Dublin, San Ramon, and Livermore; and as needed with school districts in Dublin, San Ramon, Pleasanton, and Livermore.

President Georgean M. Vonheeder-Leopold was appointed to the DSRSD board in July 2009 after the death of Director Thomas W. Ford and subsequently elected to a full, four-year term in November 2010. Vonheeder-Leopold has 16 years’ experience in public office, having served previously on the DSRSD board from 1992-2000 and on the Dublin City Council from 1986-1990. She also has served on various city and county commissions as well as a host of nonprofit boards, and this year she was elected to the Alameda Local Agency Formation Commission as the Alternate Special District Representative for a four-year term ending in May 2017. She recently retired as an enrolled agent with more than 35 years of experience in tax accounting. 

Vice President Edward R. Duarte was first elected to the DSRSD board in 2012 to a four-year term expiring in December 2016. Duarte is a general engineering contractor with more than 50 years of experience. His construction firm specializes in public works projects. He holds a Bachelor of Science in civil engineering from Fresno State University and is a graduate of the UCLA Anderson School of Business, Management Development for Entrepreneurs program. A resident of San Ramon since 1979, Director Duarte is a member of the San Ramon Chamber of Commerce and the San Ramon Rotary club and he served on the San Ramon Citizen’s Advisory Committee for Redevelopment.

Director Dawn L. Benson was elected to the DSRSD board in November 2010 and is the immediate past president. She has more than 16 years of experience working in water agencies, providing services in finance, business operations, customer service, project management, and water conservation.  She is an executive assistant for a large Bay Area water and wastewater agency. Previously Benson spent 11 years in business operations, project management, and government security for a large international manufacturer of computer hardware and software.

Director Richard M. Halket was elected to the DSRSD board in 2004 and was president in 2008. A certified public accountant, Director Halket is a finance and human resources executive for a solar energy systems manufacturer. Previously he was in public accounting practice, worked for 10 years in the enterprise software industry, and spent 10 years in hydrogeology consulting. Halket received a Bachelor of Science in geology from Stanford University and a Master of Science in hydrogeology from Washington State University.

Director D. L. (Pat) Howard was first elected to the DSRSD board in 2004 and was president in 2007 and 2011. He is a licensed professional engineer with more than 30 years engineering experience. Howard has Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees in mechanical engineering from the University of California at Berkeley and a Master of Science in engineering management from Santa Clara University.

Board and Board Committee Meetings Open to All

All DSRSD board and committee meetings are open to the public and time is reserved for public comment. The board normally meets on the first and third Tuesdays of each month at 6:00 p.m., at 7051 Dublin Blvd, Dublin. Check the website, www.dsrsd.com, to be sure of dates and times. Committees generally meet once a month; the schedule of meetings for 2014 will be posted on the website once they have been established. Agendas and supporting materials for regular board and committee meetings are posted online 72 hours in advance at www.dsrsd.com. The District also posts video recordings of board meetings online.