March 4, 2008 — Herlong residents interested in serving on the Herlong Public Utility District Board may apply at the Lassen County Clerk’s office. The county Board of Supervisors will appoint two members to the board of directors for the Herlong PUD before the end of March or call for an election. Applicants must be registered voters who live within the district’s boundaries

The public water district, approved in December by the Lassen County Local Agency Formation Commission, is now in place. The county recorded the official certificate of completion for the formation of the HPUD on Feb. 14, formally converting Herlong Utilities Inc., a privately owned water utility district, into a public utility district.

According to County Counsel R. Craig Settlemire, LAFCo’s Resolution 2007-0009 calls for the supervisors to appoint the first three members of the LAFCo board. Since the resolution didn’t specify the appointment procedure, Government Code Section 1780 applies, according to a memo Settlemire wrote.

The code calls for the supervisors to appoint only enough members to give the HPUD board the quorum necessary to conduct business.

Legal process
Since a quorum for a three-person board of directors is two, the board of supervisors may do one of the following, according to Settlemire’s memo:

•On or before April 14, 2008: call for an election to fill two director positions; or

•Appoint two directors on or before April 14, 2008. (The two appointed directors would then have 60 days from Feb. 14 to appoint a person to the third director position, or call an election to fill the vacancy. If they do neither, the matter returns to the board of supervisors to either appoint a third director within the period from 60 to 90 days after Feb. 14 [that is, between April 14, 2008, and May 14, 2008] or call an election), or

•Appoint three directors after April 14, and on or before May 14, or call an election for all three director positions.”

Board of Supervisors Chairman and District 5 Supervisor Jack Hanson said he anticipates the board will appoint two members and they will appoint three additional members as one of the first actions of the new PUD board.

The appointees will then run for election in November, Settlemire told the board at its Tuesday, Feb. 26 meeting.

The board of supervisors is scheduled to appoint two directors at its March 18 meeting.

Those interested in applying may use the application form downloadable from the county website at: http://www.co.lassen.ca.us/govt/dept/county_clerk/county_recorder/documents/commission_000.pdf .

“Applications received by March 12, 2008, may be included in the Board packet in advance of the meeting,” Settlemire wrote. “However, the Board of Supervisors may accept and consider applications submitted at the meeting.

The county counsel also suggested the county staff post notice of the vacancies at three conspicuous locations within the district “as would have been required (if) the district had … any personnel.”