West Richland Complex Information & Comments Form

I was the general manager of Benton REA for 24 years before retiring in 2012. Our goal for the cooperative was to have the lowest rates in the area, with the highest service reliability while operating in a frugal but efficient manner. When I became manager in 1988 the cooperative had a net worth of roughly 20 million dollars with 20% equity. When I retired the Benton REA had a total utility plant of roughly 100 million dollars and we were on track to reach100% equity in 2024 and with the lowest rates in the area. I would assume that over the last 10 years or so Benton REA utility plant has grown to roughly 110 million dollars. To suggest that spending $25 to $30 million dollars for a new facility is a prudent decision is ridiculous. Does anyone realize that the new facility cost would be the equivalent of 27% of the total utility plant!!!
When questioned about the justification for the new facility, the answer I received was that it would:
1. improve employee morale.
2. improve operating efficiency.
With over 40 years in the cooperative utility business with 24 of those spent as the general manager of Benton REA I can tell you with confidence that a new office facility has little if anything to do with improving morale. Employees want to feel that they are trusted, that they are valuable, that they are involved in decision making and most of all, that they are part of a work family. Given the recent and significant turnover at the Benton REA due to firings and resignations I would suggest that it may take more than a new facility to improve employee morale.
I watched the video where our previous foreman from the Toppenish area discusses the need for a new facility to improve operational efficiency. He noted that there were days when crews had to open 5 gates to facilitate their work. Is it really worth 30 million dollars to potentially reduce the number of gate openings? For crying out loud, electrify the gates if they are too difficult, and as for efficiency of crews one must be aware that the residency requirement of the union contract now allows the crew members to live in Prosser that work in West Richland and visa-versa. So, the location of the facility does not determine the response time during emergencies, but rather where the
on-call crew members reside.
In summary here are my key points:
What utility in their right mind would spend approximately 27% of their total utility plant on a new facility.
The new facility does not:
1. Increase sales one kwh
2. increase reliability of service by 1 minute
3. increase the service area or growth potential of the cooperative by one iota.
4. Ensure decreased response time to emergency calls
5. Ensure improved employee morale.
The new facility does:
1. Increase the long-term debt of the cooperative and membership by 25-30 million dollars!
2. Drive a future rate increase which has been estimated at 5%.
3. Increase the local property taxes paid by Benton REA and the membership by an estimated1.26% or $378,000 per year.
My suggestion is -Stop this nonsense!! Don’t spend any more of the member’s money unnecessarily.
1. Live within your means!
2. Remember you are an electric cooperative with a mission to provide affordable. reliable electricity at the lowest possible cost. Not to construct unnecessary headquarter facilities!
3. Treat your employees with respect!
4. Maintain your electrical facilities to reduce outages which as someone noted are increasing.
5. And maintain in good order what you already have in place.
6. With construction costs and material costs at an all-time high, now is not the time to construct unnecessary facilities!!