The highly anticipated inaugural gathering of the Utility Advisory Committee happens Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. at City Hall. The committee will dive right into the thick of things, with matters on the agenda to include the Waste Water Treatment Plant upgrades, the Utility Rate Study, Winslow Way reconstruction and many other topics.

The newly formed committee meets in the midst of a lawsuit over the WWTP upgrades. The lack of previous establishment of and advice from the committee is a big factor in the Bainbridge Ratepayers Alliance lawsuit against the city.

The primary duty of the committee is to advise the council on issues related to the city’s storm, water, sewer and other utilities.

The seven-member committee is appointed by the council and features councilor Bill Knobloch serving in the role of ex-officio, or a non-voting member of hte .

Former councilor Andy Maron was named as the chair of the committee at Last Wednesday’s council meeting.

Maron brings nine years of background as a councilor in the 1990s, and he currently works as an attorney who deals with utility issues. Despite his extensive experience, Maron knows jumping into the middle of all the issues will be difficult for the committee.

“We obviously have a learning curve we need to address as soon as we can,” he said.