IRLNews:2020/10/16/Governor DeSantis Appoints SJRWMD Board Members

Governor DeSantis Appoints SJRWMD Board Members

IRL News, Author

October 16, 2020

Tallahasee, FL - Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has appointed three additional members to the St. Johns River Water Management District (SJRWMD) Governing Board. If approved by the Florida Senate, the unpaid board members will be appointed to four-year terms.

The SJRWMD Governing Board has been operating with only three out of nine members. Usually not enough for a voting quorum, but allowable due to temporary executive orders imposed by Gov. DeSantis in response to the CoVid-19 pandemic.

September Appointees

On September 8, 2020, Gov. DeSantis appointed two Governing Board members, Florida Senator Bob Bradley from Fleming Island, and environmentalist Janet Price from Fernandina Beach, to bring the board's total to 5 members. Six members are needed to meet the minimum required quorum.

Rob Bradley

Florida Senator Rob Bradley of Fleming Island was appointed on to represent the St. Johns River Basin below the Ocklawaha River and the coastal area between the St. Johns River and Ponce de Leon.

Mr. Bradley is a fifth-generation Floridian and managing partner of Bradley, Garrison and Komando, P.A., an Orange Park law firm. He is Board Certified by the Florida Bar as an expert in city, county, and local government law.

Bradley represented District 7 in the Florida Senate from 2012-2016 and District 5 from 2016-2020, serving as Chairman of the Senate Committee on Appropriations during the last three years of his tenure. As Chairman, he worked to secure more than $1.5 billion for Florida’s environment and water resources.

Bradley earned a bachelor’s degree in telecommunication and his Juris Doctor from the University of Florida.

Janet Price

Janet Price of Fernandina Beach was appointed on Sept. 8, 2020, to represent the St. Marys River Basin-Coastal area between St. Marys and St. Johns rivers. Ms. Price previously served on the District’s Governing Board from 2017 to 2019.

Ms. Price is a senior manager of environmental affairs with Rayonier Inc., a global land resources company. She has served as chairperson of the Water and Aquatic Biology Committee of the National Council for Air and Stream Improvement and served on the council’s Forestry and Environmental Technical Group.

She earned her bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of North Alabama and her master’s degree in biology from the University of Alabama.

October Appointees

The three board members appointed by the governor on October 9th bring the total up to eight members, enough to reach the pre-CoVid minimum quorum required for board votes. October's appointments include Doug Bournigue, J. Chris Peterson, Jr., and Cole Oliver.

Doug Bournique

Vero Beach resident Doug Bournique was appointed to represent the coastal area between Ponce DeLeon Inlet and the St. Lucie River which comprises over 70% of the Indian River Lagoon National Estuary including Mosquito Lagoon, Banana River, and most of the Indian River lagoon. Mr. Bournique previously served on the District Governing Board from April 2008 to August 2020.

Mr. Bournique is the Executive Vice President of the Indian River Citrus League. He previously served on the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Technical Advisory Committee for Fruits and Vegetables and on the Federal Reserve Bank’s Agriculture Advisory Council.

Bournique received his bachelor’s degree in geology from Whittier College and his master’s degree in environmental protection from Florida Atlantic University.

J. Chris Peterson, Jr.

Winter Park resident Chris Peterson was appointed to represent the St. Johns River Basin above the Ocklawaha River.

Mr. Peterson is the President of Hell’s Bay Marine, Inc., a shallow-water skiff boat manufacturer, and past president of Heath-Peterson Construction Corp. He serves on the advisory board for the University of Florida’s Biological Field Station at Cedar Key and was awarded the Conservation Award for Industry by the International Game Fish Association.

Mr. Peterson earned his bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Florida.

Cole Oliver

Cole Oliver, Merritt Island, is an attorney and partner with Rossway Swan. He was appointed to an at-large seat.

Previously, Oliver was an attorney and partner with McClelland Jones. Oliver’s community involvement includes serving on the Holy Trinity Episcopal Academy board and as a member of the Melbourne Regional Chamber of Commerce. He is the Immediate Past Chair of the East Coast Zoological Society where he helped lead the Brevard Zoo’s mission to continue improving the Indian River Lagoon’s health and restoration.

Oliver earned his bachelor’s degree in history from Washington and Lee University, his master of business administration in finance from Louisiana State University, and his Juris Doctor from the University of Florida.

Standing SJRWMD Board

The new SJRWMD Governing Board appointees join three at-large board members.

Douglas Burnett, Chairman

St. Augustine's Douglas Burnett was appointed to an at-large seat on the Governing Board on May 21, 2013.

Gen. Burnett is president of Doug Burnett and Associates, a consulting firm for major defense contractors. He is a retired major general with the Florida National Guard, having served during his 47-year tenure as a tactical fighter and airline pilot, technical and personnel program manager, and commanding officer.

A native of Jacksonville, Fla., Gen. Burnett held several key positions with the Florida National Guard, including Chief of Safety, Group Operations Officer, Director of Operations, Chief of Staff, Assistant Adjutant/Air and Adjutant General. As Adjutant General, he had responsibility for more than 12,000 soldiers and airmen who were engaged in combat operations in Afghanistan and Iraq, as well as responding to hurricanes, wildfires and other major natural disasters. Gen. Burnett also served on the Reserve Forces Policy Board, an advisory board to the Secretary of Defense, and was Chairman of the National Guard Domestic Operations Advisory Committee.

In addition to his military career, Gen. Burnett was a commercial pilot for Pan American World Airways and National Airlines.

Gen. Burnett is past president of the National Guard Officers Association of Florida and has served two terms as a member of the Board of Directors of the National Guard Association of the United States. He currently serves on the Advisory Board of the Air National Guard, U.S.

Gen. Burnett earned a degree in Business Administration from the University of Southern Mississippi, and is a graduate of the USAF Command and General Staff College and USAF Air War College.

Ron Howse, Treasurer

Cocoa's Ron Howse is president and founder of Real Deal Development Group, a real estate investment, civil engineering and land planning business. He was appointed to an at-large seat on the Governing Board on April 8, 2015, and reappointed on Aug. 23, 2019. The board elected him to serve as treasurer on Nov. 15, 2016, and re-elected him on Nov. 14, 2017, and Nov. 13, 2018.

Mr. Howse was elected to the St. Cloud City Council at the age of 28, one of the youngest ever elected to that post, and is a former assistant public works director for the city of Altamonte Springs. He has been a member of the Florida Transportation Commission since 2009 and has served three years as the Commission’s chairman. Mr. Howse previously served on the East Central Florida Regional Planning Council and the board of directors for Kissimmee/​Osceola County and St. Cloud Chambers of Commerce.

Mr. Howse is the former majority owner of the Orlando Predators and a former member of the Arena Football League’s Board of Directors. His community service includes the Boys and Girls Club of Central Florida, Pop Warner Football, the Rotary Club, and the Masonic Lodge.

Mr. Howse is a graduate of the University of Central Florida, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in engineering.

Susan Dolan

Ms. Dolan is a Director of Community Affairs and Government Relations for Waste Pro of Florida, Inc. in Central Florida. Prior to her current position at Waste Pro, she spent 25 years as a litigation paralegal in the east and central Florida areas.

She was appointed to an at-large seat on the Governing Board on March 31, 2017, for a four-year term by Gov. Rick Scott.

A native Floridian, she was born in Miami and raised in the Daytona/Port Orange area. Ms. Dolan is very active in the region, working with community leaders to promote charitable events and organizations in the community. Her community affiliations and work include 2017 President Deland Area Chamber of Commerce, Seminole County Republican State Committeewoman, Board of Directors for the Seminole County Regional Chamber of Commerce, Seminole County Parks and Preservation Advisory Committee, South Seminole Hospital Women’s Advisory Council, and more.

SJRWMD Governing Board in a Nutshell

• Burnett, Chairman - Defense Consultant, standing member since 2013

• Howse, Treasurer - Real Estate Developer, standing member since 2015

• Dolan - Community Affairs Director, standing member since 2017

• Bournique - Agriculture and Citrus Industry Leader, appointee, former member 2008-2020

• Bradley - Florida Senator with a history of supporting the environment, appointee, FL Senate 2012-2020

• Oliver - Led Brevard Zoo's mission to help restore the Indian River Lagoon, appointee

• Peterson – Flats skiff boatmaker who holds Conservation Awards from the IGFA, appointee

• Price – Accomplished environmental biologist, appointee

Gov. DeSantis, whose campaign platform included many promises to improve Florida waters, should take a look at 40% of Florida's East Coast, where the pea soup green water of "America's most bio-diverse National Estuary" is rapidly losing it's $7.6 billion economic value, and fill the remaining SJRWMD Governing Board position with an Indian River Lagoon environmentalist.

Location: Estuary: Tallahasee, FL: Florida

Source: Indian River Lagoon News Website Article Published by Indian River Lagoon Project on October 16, 2020. Retrieved on October 16, 2020.

Topic: Florida District