LSGCD General Manager Samantha Reiter said there is no deadline to fill the seat, and the district will consider a list of candidates for the position.
“The district is compiling a list of interested/recommended candidates and has a process in place for considering the potential appointees,” Reiter said in a Jan. 26 email. “A committee will be considering those on the list and will eventually make a recommendation to the board of directors. The board of directors will ultimately vote on the appointment. There is no deadline by which an appointment needs to be made. The district plans to be diligent and prudent in its consideration of potential appointees. While the district is still early in the process, the district will endeavor to appoint someone as timely as possible.”
John Yoars won the Nov. 8 election to Position 7 on the LSGCD board of directors, serving The Woodlands Township, with 51.56% of the vote. On Dec. 9, Yoars received a letter from the district’s legal counsel claiming he was not eligible to be sworn in because he was also a board member for a municipal utility district, Community Impact previously reported. At the Dec. 13 swearing-in meeting of the LSGCD board of directors, Position 7 was left vacant by the board.
Subsequently, The Woodlands Water Agency sent a letter to LSGCD on Jan. 13 requesting the appointment of Yoars to the groundwater district board pending his resignation from the Municipal Utility District No. 36 board of directors. The Woodlands Water Agency oversees 10 municipal utility districts in The Woodlands.
Jim Stinson, general manager of The Woodlands Water Agency, said in a Jan. 25 email that resignation was submitted and approved.
“The MUD 36 board of directors formally accepted the resignation of John Yoars at their meeting on Jan. 18,” Stinson said. “The logical next steps are to appoint John Yoars to fill the vacant [LSGCD] position. The reason being he received the highest number of votes for The Woodlands ... on the LSGCD November 2022 election ballot. The fact that John Yoars has now resigned from MUD 36 should satisfy the obscure rule that prevented LSGCD from seating Mr. Yoars, following the election.”
Reiter did not specifically mention Yoars in her email regarding the district’s process.
According to the LSGCD website, board meetings are held the second Tuesday of each month at the district's office at 655 Conroe Park N. Drive, Conroe.
Jessica Shorten contributed to this report.
