Title
Board/Commission Appointment(s) - Board of Public Utilities (BPU)
Recommended Action
I nominate Matt Heavner and Richard Nebel to fill one vacancy on the Board of Public Utilities for Position UT1 and move that Council appoint one nominee to the vacant position as follows:
By roll call vote, Councilors vote for one nominee, and the nominee with the highest total of four or more votes will be appointed to fill the term for Position UT1 beginning July 1, 2026 and ending June 30, 2031.
Body
The purpose of this item is to fill one vacancy on the Board of Public Utilities (BPU). This vacancy represents the term currently held by Matt Heavner, Position UT1, which will end on June 30, 2026. He is serving a partial term that was vacated by Mr. Cornell Wright effective January 30, 2024. Mr. Heavner has been a dedicated member and is currently Vice Chair of the BPU. (Please refer to Attachments A - C.)
This five-member board serves staggered five-year terms beginning on July 1. Party affiliations are noted as [D] Democrat, [R] Republican, [ I ] Independent, [G] Green, [L] Libertarian, [DTS] Declined to State, and [N] Not Registered to Vote. The BPU appointment process is outlined in Attachment A and all member and applicant party affiliations have been verified with the Clerk's Office (Attachment D). Nominees may have any party affiliation and appointing any nominee will not violate the County Charter restriction concerning political party majorities on Boards and Commissions. (NOTE: Municipal Code, Chapter 8, Article I, Footnote 2 states "County Code ch. 8, Boards and Commissions does not apply to the board of public utilities. See County Charter, art. V, utilities and County Code ch. 40, utilities, art. II, §§ 40-41-40-47.")
There were three applicants; two were interviewed and are presented to Council for consideration:
Matt Heavner - 5/4/2026 at 3:00 p.m.
Richard Nebel - 5/7/2026 at 3:00 p.m.
John Frary - 5/1/2026, declined interview and withdrew his application
The following committee members conducted the interviews:
Ryn Hermann, Council Vice Chair & BPU Liaison
Melanee Hand, County Councilor
Robert Gibson, BPU Chair
Anne Laurent, County Manager
Philo Shelton, Utilities Manager (Ex Officio)
The committee recommended that Council carefully review the applications and video interviews for all candidates before making a selection to fill Position UT1 on the Board of Public Utilities, effective July 1, 2026 and ending June 30, 2031 (Attachments E - F.) This information was emailed to Council by the DPU Executive Assistant on Friday, May 8, 2026 (Attachment G.)
After careful consideration the committee recommends the re-appointment of Mr. Matt Heavner as indicated on Attachment H.
Attachments
A - Appointment Process for BPU
B - BPU Vacancy Brochure
C - BPU Member Roster
D - Voter Registration as of May 2026
E - Matt Heavner - Application & Interview Notes
F - Richard Nebel - Application & Interview Notes
G - Email to Council
H - Interview Committee Recommendation Form