New Iteration of GRU Authority Board Holding First Meeting Thursday

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has announced the new iteration of the Gainesville Regional Utilities (GRU) Authority Board. The appointees include the chair of the previous board, Craig Carter, as well as Eric Lawson, who was a member of the previous board.  

The previous general manager of GRU, Edward Bielarski, has also been appointed. 

The two other appointees are Robert “Chip” Skinner, the president of Gainesville Area Lacrosse, in addition to David Haslam, the owner of Campus Scooters of Gainesville. Pictures of the men have not yet been found. 

The board will hold its first meeting this Thursday. 

The new appointments come due to Gainesville Residents United filing a lawsuit against the state, as the previous iteration of the board contained three members who did not reside in Gainesville, while the bill that established their authority requires all but one of the board’s members to be Gainesville residents.

Gainesville Residents United said the new iteration of the board is in compliance with the law; however, they held their stance that House Bill 1645 is unjust for appointing members to a governing board without allowing citizens to vote on who will sit on said board. They said they would continue to oppose the bill. 

At the last GRU authority meeting, Carter and Lawson voted to reduce net metering compensation for solar power, despite over two dozen speakers voicing against the compensation reduction. No public commenters spoke in favor of the motion.

The following are press releases from Gainesville Residents United and Gov. DeSantis.