West Richland Complex Information & Comments Form
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.
As the Mayor for the City of West Richland I support the proposed Benton REA complex. The city has constructed two major facilities in the last number of years, one being through the design build process, as proposed with the new REA facility. This process brings the best value to the project, with reduced change orders and controls cost overruns with the fixed price this process delivers. Contrary to others who have commented, I guarantee construction prices will not be going down in the future.
Let me share what the City of West Richland and the 73% of REA members who live in West Richland will benefit from: a positive sales tax impact for the city with the main complex being located here, with an estimated increase of about $70,000 for annual sales tax revenue, in addition to the ancillary benefits of having increased employees working in the city, as the majority of nearly 80 REA employees will be located at the West Richland complex.
Here a just a few of many positive bullet points below for supporting the new complex.
• 73% of Benton REA members are closer to the West Richland complex
• 64% of Benton REA accounts are closer to the West Richland complex
• 64% of Benton REA field work is closer to the West Richland complex
• Benton REA will see a decrease in travel to job sites, increasing all workers productivity and efficiency
• Lower fuels costs and decreased wear and tear on vehicles
• Faster response time equals better service for REA members
• West Richland complex results in several properties in Prosser and West Richland that are surplus and can be sold to help offset the cost
of the new facility
Prosser currently operates with four separate properties, requiring crews to stop at 3 to 4 of those properties to gather vehicles and material before they can leave for the job site which reduces productivity and efficiency members are paying for. I encourage you to watch the video offered for a better understanding of the inefficiencies of the current operation. I commend the Trustees and REA staff for doing their due diligence in this process and look forward to their continued partnership.