Kennedy to serve as board vice chair
Published in the February 4-17, 2015 issue of Morgan Hill Life
By Staff Report
Gary Kremen
The Santa Clara Valley Water District Board of Directors unanimously elected Gary Kremen, District 7 representative, to serve as board chair in 2015. Dennis Kennedy, representing District 1 which includes Morgan Hill, San Martin and Gilroy, was elected vice chair
Kremen was elected to the board in November. He has served as president of the board of directors of Purissima Hill Water District, which serves the Los Altos Hills area and parts of unincorporated Santa Clara County. He was also the secretary of the Water Conservation Committee for the town of Los Altos Hills. He is a clean technology engineer with more than 30 years experience starting companies, including Match.com. He has been involved in water conservation, leak detection, water recycling and water reuse.
In his opening comments, Kremen discussed his major priorities for the year. He said the drought should be the No. 1 issue and the district must consider all options, including the district’s investments in water recycling of all types. He emphasized his desire to focus on the district’s workforce and retaining key employees. He will also advocate that all communities in the county be treated fairly with respect to taxes and to flood control. And he will focus on transparency, assuring that board policies support “best of breed” outreach efforts. Finally, Kremen recognized a need to make sure the district’s finances and costs are controlled as major capital improvement projects get underway and that rate increases should only be a last resort.
Dennis Kennedy
Vice Chair Kennedy was appointed to the water district board in 2013 and elected to the District 1 seat in November. Kennedy served as mayor of Morgan Hill from 1991 to 1992, and from 1996 to 2006. He has lived in Morgan Hill for 37 years. As a registered professional mechanical engineer, Kennedy worked for IBM for 25 years and later for Parsons Corporation as a project manager.
The Santa Clara Valley Water District manages an integrated water resources system that includes the supply of clean, safe water, flood protection and stewardship of streams on behalf of Santa Clara County’s 1.8 million residents. The district effectively manages 10 dams and surface water reservoirs, three water treatment plants, an advanced recycled water purification center, a state-of-the-art water quality laboratory, nearly 400 acres of groundwater recharge ponds and more than 275 miles of streams. It provides wholesale water and groundwater management services to local municipalities and private water retailers who deliver drinking water directly to homes and businesses in Santa Clara County.
