Supervisors Pick Candidate With Engineering Skills To Fill TUD Board Seat

New TUD Board Director Glen R. Jacobs

Sonora, CA – The Tuolumne County Supervisors chose an engineer to fill a vacant seat on the Tuolumne Utilities District  (TUD) Board.

The seat became vacant when TUD board member Lisa Murphy resigned as she was moving out of the county, as detailed here. The supervisors were called on to decide after the TUD board members were split between two candidates, businessman Troy Carle, and engineer Glen Jacobs, as earlier reported here.

The supervisors questioned the candidates regarding supplying housing, infrastructure, ditches, the economy, and possible rate increases for acquiring PG&E water rights. Candidate Carle had this to say about the latter: “The PG&E issue is hard to make a guess at what that acquisition is going to cost…If it comes back that it’s half a billion dollars. I don’t know if that’s good at the end of the day to bankrupt the district…But in general, if it’s something that is good for us, It’s something I would support.” Challenger Jacob stated, “I would support doing whatever is necessary…to not only just have reliable and safe water, but secure water, and that is important. That is going to require a great deal of effective communication to the public…We have to be able to clearly communicate the benefit.”

Board Chair Kathleen Haff acknowledged that good communication skills were also needed and asked the candidates what they understood their responsibilities to be on the TUD board. Carle answered, “The role really is to help guide the agency with those big picture ideas and then communicate that to the ratepayers, community partners and the employees. I think it is a unique role, and it is one that I am well suited for.” Jacob responded, “We need to be visionaries; we need to look at not just what is good for us now but what’s good for our children and all the generations to follow. Not just looking at strictly water issues, but looking at the cultural, historical and recreational issues…So, we need to develop a mission that reflects that.”

That answer from Jacob got District 3 Supervisor Anaiah Kirk’s attention, as he says it changed his perspective on the preservation of the TUD ditches from being an ecological versus economic issue to also being a cultural and historical issue. Kirk shared that Jacob had already effectively communicated something to him that he had never thought of before. Kirk added, “If I wanted an opinion, I would ask Troy [Carle], but if I wanted more of a solution, I would ask Glen [Jacobs] just because of his background and experience. When I hear the board…talk about economic and housing issues, I hear visionary, I hear more solutions focus from Glen.”

Each candidate had several supporters who spoke about their strengths, and then it was time for the board to vote. It was unanimous for Jacobs to fill the seat for the term that will last through December of next year.