This week The Times continues a series highlighting the four candidates for the Fountain Hills Sanitary District Board of Directors.

This election is an all-mail ballot process. Ballots will be mailed to registered voters on Wednesday, Oct. 9. The registration deadline for this election is Monday, Oct. 7. Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 5.

The candidates are responding to a series of questions posed by The Times. Question #3 asks: What is the role of the directors, and the Sanitary District on the whole, as leaders and good citizens in the community?

Bob Shelstrom – “As directors of the Sanitary District, I believe we have a strong obligation to promote the environmental and public health of our community, as well as being an advocate for best use of resources through water, waste and energy conservation.

“Since good environmental practice is economically beneficial and environmentally responsible, education is key to making real progress.

“I learned this years ago teaching high school honors physics and college physical sciences.

“In addition to educating our community in ways to reduce wastewater, there are ways we may be able to incentivize water conservation. Teaming with the town, who has an excellent environmental department under Mr. Rees, and EPCOR (our drinking water supplier) we can work together to provide customer savings through conservation.

“In Fountain Hills we currently charge a ‘flat rate’ for residential sewer charges rather than a charge per 1,000 gallons usage, as is the case in the vast majority of Sanitary Districts. I’m currently investigating ways to make conservation financially benefit the customers by an alternative billing method, perhaps partnering with EPCOR to save on billing costs through consolidated billing as well as incentivizing reduced water usage. It should be good for customer pocketbooks as well as our beautiful Fountain Hills environment!

“As a director, I’d love to volunteer to work with our district staff for outreach to students in our schools and community and present ways we can conserve our precious water.

“We need to make smart use of our resources a lifelong learning experience!”

Bob Thomson – “As a good member of the community the district’s mission is to continue to recycle 100 percent of the wastewater received in an efficient and cost effective manner.

“Recently, the district implemented a newsletter to accompany quarterly billings to better inform our users about district operations. For example, this has encouraged more users to sign up for an auto-pay option, making it easier to pay user fees (and thank you to those of you who have signed up).

“Our district manager holds information sessions with Town Council and mayoral candidates assisting them in better understanding the district’s operations and role in our community.

“Recently we implemented a Low-Income Assistance Program to help serve financially vulnerable residents. We may be the only Sanitary District in the state to have such a program.

“The District participates with the Fountain Hills Coalition and Sheriff’s Department by actively promoting proper ways to dispose of unused prescription drugs. This helped divert over 190 pounds of prescription drugs in one year from being abused or flushed down the drain.

“Generally, the Directors’ role as leaders and good citizens of the community is first and foremost to fulfill our obligations as directors. We have to set policy and oversee its implementation for a district that recycles 100 percent of received wastewater in a cost effective manner.

“Personally, I actively participate in community organizations. This led to my induction in 2011 into the local Hall of Fame. It also puts me in regular touch with users and their feedback.”

Jerry Butler – “The role of the Sanitary District and its Board of Directors is to take care of all ‘used water’ generated within the community, and to do so in an unobtrusive manner.

The district and its directors must keep abreast of all Town Planning and Zoning activities to be certain that when a development does come to fruition that the district is in a position to serve it. Fortunately, the district has had an excellent record. The last time a bond had to be used to finance change was nearly 25 years ago. Since then, adequate reserves have been sustained that allow the district to stay ahead of customer needs.

“As good citizens, the directors are engaged in the community in various ways. Shortly after I moved to Fountain Hills I became an active participant in updating the town’s vision plan in the early 2000s, and then I was appointed to the town’s first Strategic Planning Advisory Commission. After that, I served on the Chamber of Commerce’s Business Vitality Advisory Council and subsequently contributed many ideas to the Downtown Vision Plan.

“Currently, in addition to my role as a Sanitary District director, I am an active member in the International Dark Sky Discovery Center being planned for the Civic Plaza Campus, plus I am a board member of the Fountain Hills Cultural and Civic Association.

“Last year, my integrity as a respected citizen was acknowledged when I was inducted into the Lower Verde River Hall of Fame.”

Michael Maroon – “If you pause and think about it, you begin to realize how vital the Sanitary District is to the town – the water we provide literally breaths life and vibrancy to Fountain Hills. The Fountain, parks, disc golf, soccer fields, baseball fields, the dog park, the Avenue of the Fountains – the Sanitary District operations quietly sets the scene to bring all of this to life through our repurposed water. Collaboration is the key to all of this.

“The district strives to have strong relationships with all of the benefactors of our water so we can collaborate on creative solutions together. As an example, our project to raise the well vaults above ground at Fountain Park affected the town and the Disc Golf Club. We collaborated to make the project mutually beneficial by adding restrooms for the town and provided resources to the Disc Golf Club in the redesign required from our project.

“This improves the town’s ability to continue offering wonderful events at the park with permanent restrooms and also ‘softens the blow’ with the Disc Golf Club’s redesign as we help assist with the costs caused by our project.

“These efforts require directors to be ‘bridge builders,’ not self-proclaimed ‘disruptors’ like Shelstrom. I’m proud of this town and my contributions to it. I am an annual sponsor for Little League, the Soccer Club and I sponsor the PTO and am a strong supporter of our schools! I also donate substantially to and serve on the board for the Boys & Girls Club.”