DeSantis adds last minute appointee to SRWMD

Today Vice Chair Richard Schwab conducted the SRWMD meeting with a quorum present due to new appointee Harry Smith, described below.

Tallahassee, Fla. — Today, Governor Ron DeSantis announced the appointment of Harry Smith to the Suwannee River Water Management District Governing Board.

Harry Smith

Smith, of Lake City, is the Vice President of Feed Operations for Central States Enterprises. An avid outdoorsman, his work revolves around businesses that need water to operate and grow. He received his bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Florida.

This appointment is subject to confirmation by the Florida Senate.

Three speakers during the Public Comment period lamented the lack of an environmentalist on the water district board, Lu Merritt, Steve Gladdin  and OSFR President Mike Roth.  Indeed we see this as an issue of extreme importance which can only be interpreted as a governor who puts the environment at the bottom of the heap.

This is especially tragic when we have highly qualified individuals who are available and willing to work who were nominated to our governor.

Others who spoke on environmental issues were Merrillee Malwitz-Jipson, hydrologist Dennis Price and your historian.