Y-Squalicum Water Association
Our Board Members
Our seven member, all volunteer, Board of Trustees are elected to 3 year terms on a rotating basis. Monthly meetings are normally held on the 2nd or 3rd Tuesday of each month at 7:00 PM, at the Rome Grange. Look for the current schedule by clicking on Resources then Announcements on our web page.
Contact the board at ysqualicumwater@outlook.com
President
Ole Espeland
2nd Generation Squalicum Valley Resident. Longtime MBSA Employee and Certified Water Treatment Operator.
Ole was born and raised in the Squalicum Valley and on the slopes of Mt. Baker Ski Area. He is the second generation of his family to live in the Squalicum Valley and has been here roughly 37 years. Ole started working at the MT Baker Ski Area in 1990, becoming full time in 1998, the year after he graduated from Mt. Baker High School. He started in food service then moved into the rental/repair shop. Ole supervised the rental/repair shop for 5 years, and performed utility and building maintenance in the summers.
Ole is the Water System Supervisor and Utilities Manager for Mt. Baker Ski Area. He operates two water systems for Mt. Baker Ski Area; one system is surface water treated with slow sand filters and chlorination, and the other system is served by wells.
As a Utility Manager he is part of utilities, maintenance and operation for the ski area which is off grid. The ski area provides their own power generation, phone, water, septic systems, and heavy equipment for snow removal to support the lifts, lodges and maintenance facilities. The Ski Area can handle many customers in a short amount of time, with an average of 663” of snow annually.
Ole received his Basic Treatment Operator Water Certification in 2001 and currently is a Water Treatment Plant Operator 1. He has also been a Wastewater Treatment Plant Operator for the past 15 years.
Ole enjoys spending his off time in the mountains, at home, and in the ocean with his wife Jenn and two daughters.
360-303-0833
Board Member
Joan Moline
Joan have lived in the valley for almost 40 years.
She lived here for 2 years when she first got married and left when they needed a bigger home to raise our 2 children. In 1983, they built our home on the Y Rd. She began working for Visiting Angels as their bookkeeper in 2003 after being an orthodontic assistant for 20 years. Visiting Angels was a one person office, where she did accounts receivable, payable, payroll, and taxes. All things money related! It has been a wonderful career. Recently, she has became semi-retired so that she can enjoy and participate in more volunteer activities.
Joan is the treasurer of Women Ministries for their church conference and have served for about 7 years. She is also involved with our conference Retreat Team where every year over 400 women are served. Joan's hobbies include reading, sewing and crafting and she is looking forward to pursuing more of those activities.
Joan is looking forward to serving on this board and using her talents to help maintain the solvency of the association
and being compliant with all of the rules and regulations that come with it. Now is the time to make sure everything
is shored up to meet state standards.
"Thank you for trusting me and allowing me to serve." ~Joan
360-961-3919
Vice President
Marty Kutschbach
Squalicum Lake Rd Resident for 40 years
Marty is a full time Realtor with John L Scott Real Estate for 15 years. He specializes in Residential Sales and the East County area. He works throughout Whatcom and Skagit County.
Previously he worked in Bellingham at Brooks Manufacturing for 25 years. When he left there he was the Production Manager, Safety Manager, and Environmental Coordinator. He coordinated all plant schedules and worked with Sales and Engineering to ship out products on time, as well as being involved with Inventory Control. They are a wood treatment facility in the city of Bellingham, so there was considerable environmental reporting and training.
He served previously on the Squalicum Valley Water Board about 25 years ago.
Marty is also a volunteer with the Whatcom County Veteran Navigator program helping our Veterans obtain the help and benefits that they deserve. They hold monthly events throughout the County.
Marty’s wife Julie was born and raised on Squalicum Lake Rd and has never lived anywhere else. Her father was Rags Moline, one of the 6 individuals who mortgaged their homes to start our association.
Julie and Marty raised two children here in the Valley. They currently have one grandson.
Martys interests include gardening, some hunting, and spending time with family and friends.
360-319-0695
Board Member
Tim Unger
Tim has been a Whatcom County resident for 67 years and has lived in the house where he was raised. He has lived there for over 60 years. He graduated of Western Washington University. Tim worked at Bellingham Cold Storage for 43 years. During that time he was the Squalicum Plant Manager for 34 years and the Human Resources Manager for 3 years before retiring in 2018. Tim has served on two church boards and is currently serving on Session at Cordata Presbyterian Church. Tim is married and my wife and he have 4 grown children between us.
360-592-5959
Board Member
Keven Solvik
Kevin is blessed to live in this beautiful valley on land cleared and farmed by his grandfather. He retired recently from Whatcom Transit Authority as a bus driver serving elderly and disabled riders for 14 years. While viewing most of Whatcom County through the windshield, he enjoyed interacting with many dear riders, listening, observing, anticipating their needs.
He moved to Whatcom County from Marysville after working for Goodrich Aerospace in Everett for 8 years as a system mechanic, making use of his aircraft air frame and power plant license. He was a mechanic on UPS aircraft, repairing engines, landing gear, pylon structures, etc. while further developing leadership skills. He took the job at Goodrich because of his love of aviation developed during 20 years of service in the Army.
He began his military career as a helicopter crew chief then became a pilot and warrant officer, and then a maintenance test pilot, overseeing aircraft maintenance programs and certifying the airworthiness of the aircraft under his control. He finished my career managing the school that trained and certified Kiowa Warrior helicopter maintenance test pilots. He retired from Army in 1997 after working in several states and overseas in Germany and South Korea.
Kevin is a graduate of Mount Baker High School. He has been married to Kay for 43 years, whom he met while attending bible school in Seattle. He enjoys skiing, motorcycle riding, scuba diving, and now bird watching, camping, fixing all sorts of things, and being a part of our wonderful community.
Keven Solvik
360-592-2092