West Richland Complex Information & Comments Form

Screenshot-2024-07-02-at-1.56.23 PM.jpg

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 

 

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 Shinkoethe

I support Benton REA building their new headquarter in West Richland, where a majority of their members are. This will help the utility be more efficient when responding to outages and providing service to its members. The current facility is very old and run down and does not accommodate modern technology or growth for our growing West Richland community. I believe the 5% or less than $7 per month is a reasonable amount to pay for a brand new facility. Benton REA staff was helpful in guiding me through the process to qualify for a $200 bill credit, which would more than cover my 5% increase for the next few years. I VOTE YES!