PUD asked for financial assistance

EPHRATA - Soap Lake Mayor Wayne Hovde went before the Grant County Public Utility District commission Monday, saying the cost to keep street lights lit is too expensive for cities and towns to maintain alone.

They need the PUD's help, Hovde said. The financial impact is most significant for the small towns dotting Grant County, he said. According to the mayor, Soap Lake's electricity bill for lighting its streets in 2006 was $36,000.

Cities and towns in Grant County can't bill residents for electricity used for street lighting, making it difficult to pass the costs on to users. The PUD was asked in 2003 to relieve the communities of the burden, but no action was taken.

"I was hoping to bring this to your attention before your retreat," Hovde said.

The commissioners finish a two-day session today with PUD staff members at Cave B Inn at SageCliffe, a luxury resort in Quincy. Hovde asked them to consider the issue during the session. Hovde said the PUD has a responsibility to at least share in the cost. Street lights are a matter of public safety, benefiting everyone, he said.

Several elected officials and representatives from Grant County's cities and towns joined Hovde at the commission meeting, including the mayors of Electric City, Ephrata, Royal City and Wilson Creek. They said they showed up to remind the PUD of their concerns.

Moses Lake City Manager Joe Gavinski told the commission the PUD has authority to bill ratepayers for use of the street lights and should consider doing so.

Gavinski said Moses Lake is better able to "weather the costs" than smaller towns, because of recent economic development. Moses Lake spends about $225,000 per year keeping streets and intersections lit, Gavinski said.

It would be an expensive process for cities and towns to become electric utilities, enabling them to charge for the electricity, the manager said. Becoming electric utilities would also duplicate services being provided, he said.

Kathy Bohnet, mayor of Wilson Creek, said they paid more than $7,100 last year on street lighting. The city's budget is about $60,000.

"It's a real challenge for us to come up with the money," Bohnet said.

Royal City Mayor Justin Jenks said they pay about $1,700 per month for street lights.

"Everyone in and around the city benefits from the safety of those lights," Jenks told the commission.

People living outside Royal City use the street lights when the come to town, he said. Royal City, like other towns, can't pass the cost on.

"It's a guaranteed loss for us," Jenks said.

PUD Commissioner Tom Flint responded, "I'd have a hard time having all the (PUD's) ratepayers paying for those lights."

Ephrata Mayor Chris Jacobson said the PUD could more easily absorb the cost of paying for the lights. The PUD's 2007 budget is nearly $470 million.

"We're looking for any relief we can receive," Jacobson told the commission. The city pays $140,000 per year for the lights, he said.

"There seems like there should be some relief, somewhere," Jacobson said.

"The commissioners told the mayors at Monday's meeting that they would look into the issue and see if there's anything they could do," PUD spokeswoman Rita Bjork said today. "But (the commissioners) haven't made any decisions at this point."

In routine business at Monday's meeting:

? The commission approved travel for two employees to various meetings with legislators, staff, and agencies relating to PUD issues in Washington D.C. from Feb. 12 through Feb. 15.

? The commission passed a motion to send two employees to the national hydropower association annual conference in Washington D.C. from March 13 through March 18.

? The commission signed off on travel for two employees to the Hyundai heavy industries factory in Ulsan, Korea, from Feb. 20 through March 3, to inspect and observe final testing of a transformer.