The Lake Agassiz Water Authority (LAWA) hired its first employee in June this year, 23 years after the North Dakota State Legislature created the water authority. Spencer Halvorson is LAWA’s new Executive Director.
LAWA is a co-sponsor of the Red River Valley Water Supply Project (RRVWSP) with the Garrison Diversion Conservancy District (Garrison Diversion). LAWA represents the end users of the Project. The magnitude of the effort to get the RRVWSP to where it is today is not lost on Spencer. He gives a lot of credit to those who have been working for decades to make this much-needed water supply project a reality.
“When reading up on the Red River Valley Water Supply, you quickly learn that the vision to utilize the Missouri River to the strategic benefit of North Dakota has been 80 years in the making,” he says.
Ultimately, the chance to work on a historic project like the RRVWSP was too rare to pass up. “Coming to LAWA and getting to work on this project when it’s about six years away from the anticipated completion is inspiring,” says Spencer. “Just an incredible project and opportunity at a critical time in the project’s development.” The scope of the project is well understood by him, with much of central and eastern North Dakota expected to benefit from the project. “It’s an amazing opportunity to do something for the common good of – not just one town – but half of the citizens of North Dakota,” said Spencer.
A Career Built on Public Service
After growing up in Devils Lake, Spencer attended Lake Region State College where he earned his Associate of Arts degree. He went on to earn a Bachelor degree and Master of Public Administration from the University of North Dakota. Since then, he has devoted his career to public service, most recently serving as the City Administrator for his hometown. He began at the City of Grand Forks as a Planning and Zoning intern and was promoted several times before being named City Administration Assistant and Planner/Project Coordinator.
His professional experience will assist Spencer in two ways that will directly benefit the RRVWSP – responsiveness to the project participants and to the LAWA Board. “Over my eight years or so with the cities of Devils Lake and Grand Forks, I worked directly with four different mayors. Many of the LAWA board members are current or former mayors of their communities. Reporting directly to people who hold that position is familiar. I understand the issues they work on day-to-day and the RRVWSP is one of many projects vying for their attention,” explains Spencer.
City Administrators, Finance Directors, Engineers, and Utility Managers from LAWA member communities have played major roles in the development of the RRVWSP. “These are all positions I’ve worked with, supervised, or held myself. I think that provides a perspective that helps in working with users effectively – whether they are a big city, small city, or rural water district,” he says.
Spencer’s time as the Devils Lake City Administrator also allows him to appreciate what goes into a decision like joining the RRVWSP. “I understand what it’s like to sit on the other side of the table and the calculus that goes into the user’s perspective when faced with the possibility of joining the project,” he says. “That experience provides a perspective that will help be responsive to users – all which have unique water supply needs.”
Short and Long-Term Goals
As the RRVWSP moves closer to becoming operational, LAWA is firming up its organizational structure to ensure the future program works seamlessly. The first step was hiring an Executive Director. Some of Spencer’s immediate goals in the new leadership role are to improve user engagement by facilitating more consistent and better communication with its members, as well as providing better structure, stability, and consistency to the execution of LAWA business.
LAWA is taking a more prominent role in coordinating the user agreements. Spencer began meeting with the prospective users shortly after coming on board. He is scheduling regional and individual meetings with prospective users to confirm participation in the RRVWSP. Looking ahead, he is also prioritizing the facilitation of several important contracts that are on the horizon. The Water Supply, Water Distribution, and Thompson-Acker Agreements will be foundational legal documents which will define how the project will operate.
“My long-term goal is to be responsive, effective, and reliable for users when it comes to operations, diplomacy, and advocacy,” he says.
Outside of the Office
Due to his new position, Spencer recently relocated his family of five from Devils Lake to Fargo. He and his wife, Stephanie, stay busy with their three children who are all under age four.
Outside of time spent with family or on the job, Spencer also officiates high school and college basketball. The part-time gig also benefits his day job.
“Officiating is a great way to develop skills that help you in your professional and personal life. You really have to work hard on what’s right in front of you. You take black and white rules and enforce them on a gray world. You learn to trust yourself, separate noise from signal, and work with others in tense situations,” says Spencer. “It also teaches you how important a ‘next play’ mindset is in life. The only thing worse than one bad call is two bad calls back-to-back. Same thing for your professional and personal life – the most important task is the next one, and compounding negatives can only be prevented by working hard to get the next play right.”
Whether it’s on the court or in a meeting, Spencer works diligently to make the right calls at the right time while finding common ground with all the players in the room.