West Richland Complex Information & Comments Form

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In 2021, Benton REA purchased 17 acres of land for future development. The land is located in West Richland on Cooperative Way, just off Keene Road.

 

Aging facilities require improvements in both West Richland and Prosser. 

  • Increase costs to address maintenance and repair issues 
  • Current HVAC failing - increased frequency of service calls and cost 
  • Electrical issues causing internal loss of power, overloading circuits 
  • Run down facilities due to age and increased traffic 

 

All members benefit from future property improvements. 

  • West Richland complex results in several properties in Prosser and West Richland that are surplus and can be sold 
  • District office and crew will remain in the Prosser area to serve members closer to it
  • Will consolidate district office facilities and eliminate crews stopping at 2-4 locations to get material before they leave for the outage or job site  
  • Operational efficiencies result in more work time, faster response time = better service
  • Improves service to everyone, not just those closer to West Richland 

 

New Complex Flyer

All comments will be posted on this site for members to view. Please refrain from using profane language. All comments will be reviewed for such language prior to posting.

Community Comments

Jennifer Tomasino

I do not support this idea of a $20-30million complex. My dad used to have a saying- never trust a bank or an insurance guy with a big, fancy building, they built that with YOUR money. The cooperatively owned utility district would stand to remember that notion as well. I fail to see how residents within the boundaries of Benton REA will ever benefit from the “wish list” of this building project. All buildings age- as a homeowner on a budget I don’t tear down my home and build one at exponentially higher cost because my HVAC unit is going out or I wish I had a different type of gate system. Raising rates in the middle of a recession is a tone deaf move. And the Benton REA should learn to live within their means instead of passing a new fee onto their residents in attempts to “keep up with the Joneses.”