Lakeway Municipal Utility District has taken two steps to restoring order in its ranks by appointing Earl Foster as its general manager and Trish Carls as its general counsel.

Foster, who served as LMUD’s chief wastewater operator from February 2000-September 2000 and its wastewater supervisor from September 2000-November 2004, will start in his new role Sept. 20.
Board President Karl Ansbach, who is serving as the district’s interim general manager, said Foster’s familiarity with the MUD and his experience put him ahead of other candidates that interviewed.
“We’re excited about him coming onboard and think he will be a tremendous asset to the MUD,” Ansbach said.
Foster has been Kingsland Water Supply Corp.’s general manager since 2007 and operated several water and wastewater plants for Aqua Texas in 2006-07. Before then, he was Pennco’s manager of operations in Sealy, Texas, from November 2004-June 2006.
Foster left LMUD because his opportunities for promotion were limited.
“That was always my aspiration to be in charge of Lakeway. I went out and gained more experience to better myself,” he said.
Foster has been overseeing Kingsland Water Supply Corp.’s construction of a $5.6 million water treatment plant with an output of 4.5 million gallons per day. The corporation secured a $1 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Development office to help pay for the plant.
He sought a return to an area that has always intrigued him and the opportunity to work with a highly professional staff, he said.
He and wife, Kaci, and children, Whitnee, Chadd, Cody and Brock, 12, are eager to get involved in the community.
“To work there and be involved with the community is something me and my family are looking forward to. It was a family that made the decision [to accept the offer],” he said. “I’m looking forward to the adventure. It’s going to take all of us there at Lakeway MUD to do the job.”
He replaces former General Manager Richard Eason who resigned July 14 after 17 years of employment at LMUD. Eason’s fractious relationship with some board members, including Kay Andrews whom he sued for defamation, led to his decision to leave.
Despite the turmoil, Ansbach said Foster is taking over a MUD with upper-level staff members who have kept the ship on course.
“It’s not a broken MUD, so it’s not something that needs to be fixed,” he said.
The board president said he hoped Foster would remain with the district for 10-15 years and anticipated LMUD’s growth as one of the biggest challenges during that time.
LMUD’s negotiations with developer Haythem Dawlett involving the Highlands could add another 1,700 water and wastewater customers to the district’s service area. Depending on the outcome of those discussions, the district could expand its S-5 Wastewater Treatment Plant near Lakeway World of Tennis.
“That’s going to be a pretty big to-do,” Ansbach said.
LMUD board members also appointed Trish Carls, managing partner of Carls, McDonald & Dalrymple, as the district’s general counsel at their regular meeting Aug. 11.
She replaces former general counsel Mike Willatt, who had served as the district’s general counsel since 1992. Willatt submitted his resignation May 25 on behalf of Austin law firm Willatt & Flickinger.
Carls served as a staff attorney for the Texas Water Commission and environmental counsel to the Lower Colorado River Authority.
She also worked on hazardous waste permitting and regulatory compliance as a member of the environmental law section at Brown McCarroll & Oaks Hartline.
The district’s new general counsel also served as Georgetown’s city attorney from 2001-2009.
“Welcome aboard,” Ansbach said to Carls after board members unanimously voted to appoint her.