Racquel Vaske has been named general manager of St. Paul Regional Water Services following the departure of Patrick Shea, who relocated this year to Florida.

The Board of Water Commissioners of St. Paul Regional Water Services has named Racquel Vaske as the organization’s next general manager. (Courtesy of St. Paul Regional Water Services)

Vaske, a 10-year employee and the utility’s first female general manager, will oversee an organization with 300 workers and serving 450,000 customers in 14 cities, with operational revenues of $129 million.

The water utility’s public board of commissioners appointed Vaske following a national search. A committee comprised of water industry experts and local stakeholders chose five finalists, including three external candidates and two internal ones. Vaske had worked as interim general manager since January, and was officially appointed to the position during Tuesday’s board meeting.

Vaske spent the last three years as assistant general manager after previously serving as manager of human resources. She helped to launch “Lead Free SPRWS,” an initiative to replace 26,000 lead lines in and around St. Paul within 10 years, as well as a utility trainee program and the rollout of infrastructure for automated metering.

She holds bachelor’s degrees in public management and human resource management and a master’s degree in human resources from the University of Minnesota’s Carlson School of Management. The utility’s distribution system is comprised of 1,100 miles of water main, 10,000 hydrants, and 95,000 service lines.

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