FOREST LAKES ADVISORY COMMITTEES
Standing Committee Charters
The board's standing committees are advisory: each studies matters in its subject area and recommends policies to the board for approval. This document sets out the rules common to all of them — membership, terms, chairs, staff requests, and record-keeping. The Human Resources Committee has a separate charter because it handles confidential personnel matters.
→ Read the full Standing Committee Charters (PDF)
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Water Committee:
Directors: Chris Kelly, Winnie Baer
Shareholders:
Purpose: To help the board oversee water supply, conservation, and water quality.
Scope: Review water production, usage, and conservation data and report trends to the board. Study conservation measures, rate structures as they relate to conservation, and drought response, and recommend policies. Review water quality monitoring and reporting practices. Recommend capital or programmatic priorities related to supply and quality. Questions of regulatory interpretation or compliance action are referred to the General Manager, who obtains agency or legal guidance as appropriate and reports to the board.
Road and Safety Committee:
Directors: Chris Kelly, Benjamin Charpy
Shareholders:
Purpose: To help the board oversee the condition, maintenance, and safety of company roads.
Scope: Review road conditions and maintenance needs and recommend priorities and budgets to the board. Study issues of traffic, parking, drainage, and access-safety and recommend measures. Review contractor scopes of work at the board’s request. Provide community observations and feedback regarding road work. Maintenance scheduling and contractor management remain with staff.
Join the road and safety committee
Recreation Committee:
Directors: Dave Dondero, Chris Sprague
Shareholders:
Purpose: Review rules, hours, safety practices, staffing, and seasonal operations for recreational use and recommend changes to the board.
Scope: Plan and coordinate community events and volunteer activities in cooperation with staff. Recommend improvements to recreational facilities. Any work in or near the streambed, reservoir structures, or other permitted areas is coordinated through the General Manager and must comply with the company’s permits; the committee does not authorize or undertake such work prior to coordination with the General Manager.
Finance Committee:
Directors: Marc Grasso, Chris Sprague
Shareholders:
Purpose: To help the board oversee the company’s financial condition, controls, and planning.
Scope: Review monthly and annual financial statements and report observations to the board. Assist in developing the annual budget and assessment recommendations. Review reserves, investments, and banking arrangements and recommend action. Review internal financial controls and recommend improvements. Review significant or unusual expenditures at the board’s request. The committee does not approve expenditures, execute transactions, or direct staff on financial operations.
Rules Committee:
Directors: Devon Pattillo, Chris Kelly
Shareholders:
Purpose: To help the board keep the company’s bylaws, policies, rules, and regulations current, consistent, and lawful.
Scope: Review existing bylaws, policies, and regulations and recommend amendments. Draft proposed policy language at the board’s request. Review new policies for consistency with the bylaws, the Code of Conduct and Ethics, and applicable law. Maintain a schedule for periodic policy review. Legal questions are referred to the board for consultation with company counsel.
Strategic Planning:
Directors: Marc Grasso, Benjamin Charpy, Winnie Baer
Shareholders:
Purpose: To help the board plan for the company’s long-term needs.
Scope: Develop and periodically update a multi-year plan addressing infrastructure, water supply reliability, fire protection, finances, and governance; identify long-range risks and opportunities; recommend planning priorities and their sequencing to the board; coordinate with other committees so that their recommendations align with the long-range plan.
Join the strategic planning committee
Community Emergency Preparedness Committee
Directors: Devon Pattillo, Winnie Baer
Shareholders:
Purpose: To help the board and the community prepare for and reduce risk from wildfire and other emergencies affecting company property and the community it serves.
Scope: Review preparedness and risk-reduction practices affecting company property, including vegetation management, defensible space, access and evacuation routes, water availability for fire suppression, and readiness for other hazards (power outages, flooding/debris flow, water system
emergencies). Coordinate with the Felton Fire Protection District, Firewise, county/regional emergency services, and other relevant agencies, and report to the board; recommend community education, outreach, and preparedness resources. Recommend priorities and projects related to emergency preparedness. Operational decisions about company infrastructure and emergency response remain with staff and the board.
Join the Community Emergency Preparedness Committee
Fire Protection Reservoir Committee
Directors: Dave Dondero, Benjamin Charpy
Shareholders:
Purpose: To help the board oversee the fire protection reservoir — its seasonal filling and drawdown, maintenance, long-range reliability, and the company’s related compliance obligations.
Scope: Review the seasonal filling and drawdown plan prepared by staff and provide observations to the board in advance of each season; monitor that required permit reporting and monitoring are occurring and confirm this to the board; study capacity, sedimentation, and infrastructure needs and recommend capital or policy priorities; coordinate with the Recreation Committee on recreational use of the reservoir. Questions of permit interpretation or matters with compliance significance are brought to the board for direction, with the General Manager obtaining agency or legal guidance as needed to inform the board’s decision.
HR Committee:
Directors: Devon Pattillo, Chris Sprague, Winnie Baer
Shareholders:
The HR Committee’s charter is longer than those of other standing committees because it is the only committee that handles confidential personnel matters, complaints involving individuals, and general manager performance evaluation. Those functions require written provisions on composition, intake, recusal, and confidentiality that other advisory committees do not need.