District team UPDATE

The Prudence Island Water District welcomes its new Treasurer:

George DeChambeau was recently appointed to serve as district treasurer, replacing Pat Richard, who recently resigned.

Donna Hammann will be taking over day-to-day operations at the district office. She can be reached at 401-683-0011, or by email at info@pih2o.org.

Administrative goals and achievements

District Budget Passed:

The district budget for 2012 was approved at the board of directors meeting held 9/17/11. Download a pdf of the budget at this link.

Consumer Confidence Report

In accordance with DOH regulations, the district has completed its Consumer Confidence Report for 2010 and has distributed it to community water system customers. You can download a copy of the report at this link.

Annual report

The district's fiscal year closed on September 30, 2010. The annual report has been prepared and mailed to the district electors. You can download a pdf copy of the report at this link.

Done and done!

The Prudence Island Water District has completed its acquisition of the assets of the Prudence Island Utilities Corp., effective November 1, 2008. It's been a long four years getting to this point, and there's still a lot of work to be done as we get our operational legs under us, but we're looking forward of meeting the challenge of bringing a publically administered water system to our residents.

The Board of Directors would like to thank all of the people who made this acquisition possible, especially:

Rep. Ray Gallison, who supported the district in every imaginable way. Ray has always responded to any request we made of him, and without his faith in our ability to get the job done, we'd have been in dire straits. Thank you, Ray!

Sandra Matrone Mack, Esq. of Hinckley Allen & Snyder, LLP. Sandy's tireless efforts were instrumental in making the acquisition a reality, and it would not be overstating the case to say that we could not possibly have accomplished this goal without her help. SANDY, YOU ARE AMAZING!

Sandy was ably assisted by Cynthia Lydon and Adam Gwaltney of HAS, and we are grateful for their help and for their infinite courtesy and patience.

Mary-Stuart Kilner of Bank of America, NA was invaluable in helping us navigate through some choppy financial waters. Her expertise and her kindness have not gone unnoticed.

Gary Chobanian, P.E. Senior Sanitary Engineer at the Office of Drinking Water Quality, RI Dept. of Health. Gary's encyclopedic knowledge of procedure combined with his willingness to assist us at every step of the way helped to make this acquisition possible. Gary, you are THE MAN!

Anthony Simeone, Executive Director of RI Clean Water Finance Agency. Mr. Simeone is a talented problem solver and a true gentleman whose help and encouragement motivated us to see the transaction though to completion.

Chris Vitale handles the legal chores for RICWFA, and he quietly and efficiently coordinated all the puzzle pieces to make financing for the acquisition a reality.

These folks did the heavy lifting, but several others lent a hand too: Mark Spinale of EPA; Mark Cousineau at BOA; Colleen Bodziony, Debra Maynard and Jayne Haworth of RI Interlocal Risk Mgt Trust, Robert A. Migliaccio, Esq. of Cameron & Mittleman, LLP, and countless others all contributed to the cause. To all of you folks out there, named and unnamed, who took our phone calls, answered our e-mails, and answered our not-always-intelligent questions, we thank you!

Looking back a few years, none of this would have been possible without Jeff Gofton of the Office of Municipal Affairs (retired), who recognized that we'd never get off the ground without help and arranged for CDBG funding to get us started.

Thanks also to Dave Delisle at USDA, whose help in securing us a pre-development engineering and environmental review grant gave us a sense of direction.

Lastly, we recognize and appreciate the efforts of the PIUC in bringing the acquisition process to a successful conclusion. This has not been an easy transition for any of us, and your resolve to get it done made it possible.

Administrative infrastructure... building the district team

To build a water district up from the ground is no small feat. It requires teamwork and intensive research and planning. Fortunately, the Prudence Island Water District Planning Committee gave us an extensive charter that serves as a guidepost from which we can carry on the work of bringing a truly public water system to Prudence Island.