Fresh slate for P.B. district

 

 

 

 

 

Posted on Mon, Oct. 31, 2005

 

Fresh slate for P.B. district

The three candidates vying for the two seats are all newcomers

By KEVIN HOWE

Herald Staff Writer

With the restoration of Forest Lake Reservoir as a 420-acre-foot holding pond for recycled water and implementation of the Pebble Beach plan nearing completion, the Pebble Beach Community Services District will have undergone a nearly complete transformation of its board of trustees after the Nov. 8 election.

 

The district provides fire protection and emergency response services, sewer and trash collection services and operates a wastewater distribution system using reclaimed water supplied by the Carmel Area Wastewater District to irrigate Pebble Beach, all with an annual budget of $8.5 million.

 

Board member Nancy McCullough announced she will not seek re-election after her term ends this year and Hampton Stewart III, whose term was to expire in 2007, was replaced by Rick Verbonich after Stewart moved out of the district last year.

 

Verbonich faces no opposition for the short-term seat.

 

Three candidates are running for two four-year-term seats on the board, including Jeffrey Froke, who was appointed to the board in March, replacing David Hendrick, who left the board for health reasons, and challengers Gerald Verhasselt and Steve Rhee.

 

Froke, a 14-year resident of Pebble Beach, described himself as a career wildlife ecologist who has designed, studied and managed nature sanctuaries and conservation science programs throughout the state.

 

A graduate of Humboldt State University and UCLA, he is a life fellow in advanced environmental studies at Harvard University and was a senior manager for the National Audubon Society's wildlife refuge program.

 

Froke is a partner in the Santa Lucia Conservancy -- formerly Rancho San Carlos -- and a co-founder and former president of the 18,000-acre conservancy, and works as a conservation consultant to landowners.

 

He also serves as a trustee of the Del Monte Forest Foundation and is a member of the Del Monte Forest Open Space Advisory Committee. Froke said his experience with environmental issues can be applied to the preservation of Pebble Beach's natural resources.

 

Verhasselt, a financial representative, serves on the board of the Del Monte Forest Property Owners Association, chairing its neighborhood representatives subcommittee, and also serves on the open space advisory committee.

 

He holds master's degrees from California State University at Hayward and Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, and is a graduate of DePaul University in Chicago.

Verhasselt has been a property owner in Pebble Beach since 1991 and a full-time resident since 2001.

 

He said he would bring financial management skills developed during a professional career and from his own education and teaching experiences to the board.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rhee, 47, a contracts administration manager for Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula, was born and reared in Monterey, attended public schools and graduated from Monterey High School, Monterey Peninsula College and the University of Santa Clara.

 

He worked for 24 years in Southern California at Northrop Grumman and the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, and with municipal and federal government agencies, before returning to the Monterey Peninsula last year. Rhee is a life member of the Naval Postgraduate School Foundation.

 

He said his priorities would center on the district's fire protection, medical response and wastewater collection and treatment functions, and would bring 24 years of experience at contract management to the board.

 

 

 

 

http://www.montereyherald.com/mld/montereyherald/13042116.htm

 

 

 

 

 

     

 

 

 

 

http://www.pbcsd.org

 

 

 

 

 

Pebble Beach

 

 

 

Accessible by the spectacular 17-Mile Drive, Pebble Beach provides, perhaps, the most scenic setting for golf and recreation in the world. With its famous championship golf courses, it is hailed as a mecca for golfers. Pebble Beach hosts a variety of world class golf tournaments, including the U.S. Open and the annual AT&T Pebble Beach Pro Am. It is also home to the annual Concours d'Elegance, considered to be one of the most prestigious showcases of the world's finest classic automobiles. Its stunning coastline includes Cypress Rock, Bird Rock and the Lone Cypress, one of the most photographed landmarks on the California coast. Pebble Beach is located on the tip of the peninsula between Pacific Grove and Carmel-by-the-Sea.

 

 

http://www.monterey.com/mc1/mc1e.html