With another new year upon us, your Board of Commissioners is eagerly looking ahead to the challenge of building on the foundation of progress laid over the past years and on meeting the demands of new water and sewer service issues which lay ahead.

As a Board member, I am periodically asked a couple of questions, generally phrased as; "who serves as Board members?" and, "what does the Board do?".

The general answer to the first question is that we are a body of five individuals with diverse backgrounds and experiences. Board members are elected to staggered six-year terms, which begin in even-numbered years. With the election of members to fill two positions in the fall of 2001, a new Board was seated in January of this year. On the occasion of the seating of the new Board, I think you might enjoy a brief introduction to the individual Board members (with apologies to my fellow Board members for leaving important information out).

Don Miller, who was re-elected this past November to a fourth term, began his first term on the Board in 1984. He has lived, worked and raised a family in this community for the better part of the last forty years. In addition to his numerous community service activities, Don's professional background is in the insurance and financial planning industries. While on the Board, Don has been involved extensively in the numerous water supply projects we have been working on as well as in the District's risk program and emergency management plan.

Bev Tweddle began her service on the Board in 1988. Originally from the Spokane area, Bev and her husband have been residents of this area for over twenty-five years. She has an extensive background in municipal governance, utility service and human relations issues. She has worked in both state and local government and is also a past member of the Metro-Council. Bev has been closely involved with our Legislative Agenda and has been on the front lines many times as we have worked to gain passage of legislation favorable to the District in both Olympia and Washington D.C.

Tom Jovanovich was first elected to the Board in 1997. He currently serves as our President. Tom was raised in South King County. He and his wife, along with their two children, reside near Star Lake in the north-eastern portion of the District. He is a small business owner in the wood products industry. Since joining the Board, Tom has taken a special interest in the operation of the water and sewer systems and has recently chaired our Operations Committee. With an interest in computer technology, Tom was instrumental in the development of the District's first web-site.

Ed Stewart, who was also re-elected this past fall, has family connections to this community going back over seventy years. He and his wife have resided in the Five Mile Lake area for over fifty years. Ed is a mechanical engineer by training and has spent most of his professional career in the marine engineering industry. With his background in engineering, Ed has devoted considerable attention to overseeing engineering consultant selection and contract administration. He has also been involved on committees engaged in regional water supply planning.

I first came to the Board in 1993 when, after spending many nights in the audience at Board meetings, I was appointed to fill a new position on the Board. My wife and I, along with our three children, first moved to Federal Way in 1981. During the first part of my career, I worked in the areas of corporate and secured lending for GE Capital Services. After retiring from GE in 1988, I worked in the newly-developing e-commerce barter industry. With a background in finance and computer systems, I have contributed to formulating our budget and information systems development.

As to the question regarding the responsibilities of the Board, I believe the Board's role is to set the policies for the overall administration of the District. Chief among the policies for which we are accountable as a Board are the guidelines that go into developing the biennial budget and the monthly rates and other charges. In order to better carry out our roles as commissioners, we each strive to improve our level of familiarity with the water and sewer industry by reviewing industry literature and attending as much training as budget and time will allow. I have been fortunate to participate in leadership training over the past years and was pleased to be awarded the Certificate of Completion in Special District Board Leadership and Management from the Special District Institute last year.

Have a great 2002 and we hope to see you at our Board meetings.

The District continues work on its Legislative Agenda in Olympia. The City of Federal Way and District have pledged to work together to support legislation of mutual interest. We appreciate the help from our friends at the City.

Let the final construction begin! The signing of the Second Supply Project Agreement in December by Lakehaven Utility District, Covington Water District and the cities of Tacoma, Seattle and Kent provides the assurances by all the partners to finance and complete this $236 million dollar water supply project. The Second Supply Project is a long awaited water pipeline and storage project that will provide up to an additional 65 million gallons of water per day from the Green River to our region. What was once a "pipe dream" decades ago, is quickly becoming a reality. Over the past 30 years, Tacoma has secured the permits, the pipeline route and has installed a number of critical sections of the pipeline. Lakehaven sponsored the completion of a 9-mile section from Tacoma to Federal Way that was completed last year, while Kent and Covington are currently sponsoring the construction of a 10-mile section of the project from Palmer to Covington. When all is said and done, the project will store over 6.5 billion gallons of water behind Howard Hanson Dam and add 42 miles of piping to connect the headwater of the Green River to the Covington, Kent, Seattle, Lakehaven and Tacoma water systems. It will also provide additional summer water and significant environmental enhancements for fish in the Green River basin.

Lakehaven, Covington and Kent will own a 1/9 share of the project, while Seattle and Tacoma will each have a 1/3 share. The construction of the remaining water mains in Federal Way should be under construction in 2003, with completion of the main branch from Howard Hanson Dam to Federal Way scheduled for the end of 2004. All other components of the project are expected to be finished by 2006.

Rice Krispies
Marshmallows
Tin foil
Paper strips
Funnel

This is a great gift as a snack for parties. Prepare rice krispie treat recipe (found on box). Use a small funnel and shape the rice krispie mixture in the funnel to form a candy kiss shape. Gently pop out of funnel. Wrap the individual shapes with tin foil and attach a special message to each snack with a bow.