DeSantis names three to new Apalachicola Water and Sewer District board

Governor Ron DeSantis has named three residents to the newly created Apalachicola Water and Sewer District board, the state entity established after a 2025 local water crisis left residents reliant on emergency shipments of drinking water and prompted legislative action.

Who was appointed

The governor announced appointments of Jimmy Gander, Torben Madson III and Mark Milliken to the district’s five-member governing board.

According to the Executive Office of the Governor and reporting in USA TODAY, Jimmy Gander is the owner and vice president of JV Gander Oil Company, has served on the Franklin County School Board and is a Florida National Guard veteran who graduated from the University of West Florida. Torben Madson III is the owner and managing attorney of The PEO Law Firm and serves on the Franklin County Parks and Recreation Board; he earned degrees from the University of Florida and the University of Miami School of Law. Mark Milliken is identified as president of the Gulf Unmanned Systems Center and a retired U.S. Navy rear admiral, with past roles at Wyle Labs, Wyle, Inc. and Elbit Systems of America; he graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy.

Why the board exists

The Apalachicola Water and Sewer District was created by Florida legislation this year to take responsibility for the city’s water and sewer utility after a widely reported episode in 2025 when foul-smelling, discolored tap water disrupted daily life and tourism in the small Gulf Coast city. Lawmakers who backed the measure described it as a response to repeated utility failures and local mismanagement; the law establishes an independent special district to operate the system.

Under the statute, the district is governed by a five-member board: three members are appointed by the governor, one by the Franklin County Commission and one by the Apalachicola City Commission. Board members must be residents of the district and customers of the utility.

Local reaction and governance context

Legislators including state Rep. Jason Shoaf and Sen. Corey Simon promoted the bill as necessary after the 2025 crisis. Reporting at the time said the city formally opposed the shift, arguing it amounted to a loss of local control. The Apalachicola City Commission named Donna Knutson as its appointee to the new board and the Franklin County Commission named Billy Fuentes, administrator for the Eastpoint Water and Sewer District, according to USA TODAY reporting summarizing local coverage.

The 2025 disruption followed equipment failures that traced back to hurricane damage in 2024 and a long period of repairs that culminated later that year with replacement of a key treatment component. Lawmakers and residents described recurring operational problems and a loss of public trust in municipal management of the system.

What the appointments mean next

With three gubernatorial appointees named, the new board is closer to convening and assuming responsibility for the utility under state law. The district’s immediate tasks, as set out in the legislation and in contemporaneous coverage of the law’s passage, include restoring public confidence and ensuring reliable delivery of potable water to customers within the city and existing service area.

How the new board will approach technical upgrades, customer rates, staffing of the utility and coordination with city officials has not been detailed in the governor’s announcement or the public reporting that summarized it. The law requires board members to be residents and customers of the district, but specific near-term policies and timelines for operational transition were not included in the sources.

Timeline of key events (from reporting)

1. September 2024 – Hurricane Helene damaged water-treatment equipment, including a scrubber, according to reporting about the origin of the utility’s problems.
2. Summer 2025 – Residents experienced discolored, foul-smelling tap water; the city relied on emergency shipments of water and declared a local emergency.
3. December 1, 2025 – A replacement scrubber and other repairs were completed, concluding the immediate remediation reported at the time.
4. 2026 – The Florida Legislature passed a bill creating the Apalachicola Water and Sewer District; the law transferred utility control from the city to the independent district and set the five-member board structure.
5. September 25, 2026 – Gov. DeSantis named Jimmy Gander, Torben Madson III and Mark Milliken to the three positions on the district board that the law designates for gubernatorial appointment, according to the Executive Office of the Governor and USA TODAY.

Unresolved questions

• Details on the new board’s first meeting, leadership selection and immediate operational priorities were not available in the governor’s announcement or the publicly reported summaries.
• Specific plans for infrastructure investment, rate-setting or contracting that will guide the district’s transition away from city control were not described in the sources.
• Any statements from the appointed individuals responding to their selections were not included in the available reporting.

Why this matters to U.S. readers

The episode highlights how state governments can intervene in local utility governance following public-health and infrastructure failures. The Apalachicola case also demonstrates the interplay between natural disasters, aging utility systems and governance structures—a pattern relevant to other U.S. communities facing storm damage and aging water infrastructure.

Sources and attribution

This article is based on the Executive Office of the Governor announcement as summarized in USA TODAY and Mirage News reporting and on contemporaneous reporting that traced the events leading to creation of the Apalachicola Water and Sewer District. Specific biographical and appointment details were reported by USA TODAY and attributed in turn to the governor’s office.