KUA to host informational gatherings

As part of its ongoing customer outreach, Kissimmee Utility Authority will host a series of customer informational gatherings this summer.

Utility managers and staff will be available at each meeting to provide information on customer service, bill payment options, customer assistance programs, service reliability, electric rates and energy conservation as well as tips for hurricane preparedness. KUA also will have customer service representatives on hand with laptop computers for those wishing to discuss individual account issues.

Remaining 60-minute meetings will begin at 7 p.m. on the following dates: Tuesday, July 13, Chambers Park Community Center, 2380 Smith St.; Tuesday, July 27, Kissimmee Civic Center, 201 E. Dakin Ave.; and Tuesday, Aug. 17, Good Samaritan Village Community Center, 1441 Hoeger Circle.

Those who attend will receive a free printed copy of the utility’s 2010 Osceola Hurricane Handbook. The 40-page guide includes practical tips to prepare for hurricanes and floods, plus helpful Osceola County telephone numbers, a disaster supplies checklist and a hurricane tracking chart.

Light refreshments will be provided and participants will have the opportunity to win one of several door prizes. For more information, contact KUA at 407-933-9836

Gemskie steps down from KUA board

After a decade of service as a member of the Kissimmee Utility Authority board of directors, chairwoman Nancy Gemskie has resigned from the volunteer five-member board.

Gemskie will step down Wednesday – three months before the official end of her term – to run for a seat on the Osceola County School Board.

Gemskie joined the utility board in 2000. In addition to her service to KUA, she has served the electric utility industry as a member of the American Public Power Association’s Policy Makers Council as well as other board and committee positions with APPA, the Florida Municipal Electric Association and the Florida Municipal Power Agency. She was the 2009 recipient of APPA’s Spence Vanderlinden Public Official Award and was named FMEA’s Member of the Year in 2004.

A retired insurance executive, Gemskie is the wife of Kissimmee City Commissioner Jerry Gemskie.

Kathleen Thacker was confirmed by the Kissimmee City Commission Tuesday to fill the remainder of Gemskie’s term, effective immediately. Thacker had been confirmed by the commission in May to serve a five-year term on the board, beginning Oct. 1.

Boaters should use caution near pondweed

Osceola County officials are reminding boaters to use caution when navigating East Lake Tohopekaliga due to patches of pondweed throughout the lake.

Illinois pondweed, also known as pepper grass, is a common, native, submersed aquatic plant that will tangle around boat propellers and does not break off easily. As a result, boaters should avoid areas of pondweed if at all possible.

Pondweed is a beneficial aquatic plant for fish and wildlife, providing an excellent habitat for aquatic invertebrates and serving as an important food source for waterfowl and fish. The Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission also uses this plant to re-vegetate areas in lakes to improve fisheries.

Pondweed is more noticeable this year due to increased growth from additional rains during the dry season and subsequent drop in lake water levels throughout the chain of lakes, county officials stated in a press release. Lake levels are reduced throughout the Kissimmee and Alligator Chain of Lakes by June 1 each year to allow flood storage capacity for the rainy season.

For more information, contact Osceola County Natural Resources at 407-742-8650 or visit the University of Florida’s Center for Aquatic and Invasive Plants website at http://plants.ifas.ufl.edu/ or the U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resource Conservation Service at http://plants.usda.gov/.

Osceola County seeks applicants for advisory boards

Osceola County is looking for interested residents to apply for vacancies on several advisory boards.

Members of the advisory boards are appointed by the county commissioner based on education, training, experience and interest in a particular field. Most committees meet regularly and residents are invited to attend these meetings.

Advisory boards with vacancies for terms ending Dec. 31, 2011, include:

• The Affordable Housing Advisory Committee; two spots available, one representing the banking or mortgage industry related to affordable housing and one representative of employers in the county. Candidates must reside in Osceola County.

• The Community Development Block Grant Citizens Advisory Task Force also has two positions open. One spot is for an at-large member who has a low to moderate income. The other member would represent district 4 and also needs to have a low to moderate income. For additional information, call Jamie Rowland with Human Services at 407-742-8405. Candidates must live in the county.

• The Parks and Recreation Committee has one opening and the candidate must live in district 2.

If you are interested in being considered for an advisory board, go to http:// bit.ly/bHbepb and download the application. Once completed, it can be faxed to Mary Rogers at 407-742-2391 for consideration by the County Commission.