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

Michael MILLER

As I sit here 7/27/2024 in my home without power I cannot more passionately state that I do not support this move. Citing ailing facilities is an admission of neglecting your own equipment. Take care of what you have and it will last. If you can't maintain the old facilities then why would we believe you will maintain the new ones? Update current facilities at a fraction of the cost instead of building based off of wants.
Morale cannot be fixed with new buildings, it is fixed by treating employees with respect. After the build there will be wage disputes which will add to your morale issues.
I can tell you that after the Benton county assessor increased my property value by 150k this year and Richland school district is courting the public for 346 million for a high school close to your proposed site I definitely do not support yet another increase in my household expenditures.
As far as reducing change orders and cost overruns, you cannot assure that they won't happen or even that they will be minimized. Anyone who has ever been in construction knows this.
Guess it's time to take in some meetings.
Sell the property you bought in 2021 and invest that money in the existing facilities.