Grace City Clerk Reeves named Administrator of the Year

The Idaho Rural Water Association, which is a non-profit corporation formed in 1987 to provide training and technical assistance to water and wastewater facilities in Idaho with populations under 10,000, named Grace City Clerk Shelley Reeves as its Administrator of the Year last month.  The IRWA is comprised of over 350 drinking water and wastewater member systems across the state, who elect a board of directors from its members to oversee the operations of the association.

Obviously, drinking water and wastewater systems are extremely complex, and require a high level of skill at oversight, management, maintenance, and communication in order to be successful and operate within mandatory parameters.  Clerk Reeves was recognized for her ability to perform all of those functions on the behalf of the city, and keep its water systems up and going.

The language describing the award from the IRWA itself reads: “This award recognizes an administrative employee (City Clerk, Recorder, Treasurer, Administrator, Manager, etc) for outstanding performance in office management, customer service and any other procedures that have benefited the operation of the utility system.”  As the expression goes, that description really packs a lot of meaning into a small number of words.  

For one thing, the description lists out a number of possible jobs that might qualify for the award.  Wastewater Treatment Plant Operator Jake Wright laughs as he notes “Some cities have a person for each one of those things, but Shelley does all of those jobs, and more!”  Wright can’t say enough about how essential Reeves is to the city’s ability to sustain its water operations.  “If we were all gone tomorrow,” he said, gesturing around the room at his fellow city workers, “the city would get by.  But not without Shelley—she’s what keeps this place going.”

Beyond her ability to coordinate a large number of required federal, state, and other operational tasks, the small line about “customer service” also stands out to Wright.  “We hear some of what people call the city about, both the good and bad.  But she hears all of it.” 

City employee Shane Hamilton agrees.  “We go out and cause problems, and she has to handle all the feedback about it,” he laughs.  

Problems with water and sewer—whether it be related to billing, repair, or miscellaneous—all land first at the city desk, and that’s just one aspect of dealing with the city's utilities.  

Grace City Mayor Jackie Barthlome mentioned the critical importance of Reeves’ contribution to keeping the city going when contacted about the award. “This is a big honor, but it’s well-deserved,” she said.  Barthlome reiterated Wright’s view of Reeves’ ability to deal with a complicated set of tasks at the heart of administrating the water-based utilities. Scheduling, maintaining current licenses, coordinating with all of the involved agencies, and preparing documentation are high-stakes endeavors when a city’s ability to provide essential services to its residents is on the line.

Barthlome, Wright, and Hamilton also pointed out that Reeves is the primary driver behind the city’s ability to secure grants to help cover the expenses of existing projects.  She is also always on the lookout for new projects that the city might qualify for.  Grantwriting is fundamental to creating a financial structure within which a town of limited capital size can operate in the most responsive way possible to the needs of its citizens.  

Appreciation for what Reeves does to keep Grace up and running behind the scenes is widespread.  In addition to her official job with the city, Reeves has also served in a number of other roles, including with the Caribou County Fairboard, which works throughout the year to bring one of the most successful county fairs in the state to fruition each year.  She is also a parent within the local school district, and is married to a pretty great local sports reporter. 

The IRWA assists as many as 120 different systems each month in its effort to provide support to small, rural water and sewer utilities.  The services provided by IRWA are critical to the drinking water and wastewater systems in Idaho working to maintain compliance with stringent rules and regulations designed to protect public health and safety, as well as the environment.  In order for their work to be effective and even possible against the regulatory framework of the many involved agencies, local administrators with the skill, knowledge, and patience are absolutely essential.  The Administrator of the Year award proves that Shelley Reeves is exactly that—absolutely essential!