MOSES LAKE -  A second hearing failed to attract public comment on proposed changes to Grant County PUD commissioner district boundaries.

After just one county resident attended an initial hearing in Ephrata last month, Grant County PUD officials extended the public comment period to April 23 and opted to hold another hearing at their Moses Lake office.

"The only comment that we've had was a letter to the editor in the Columbia Basin Herald," Grant PUD commission president Tom Flint said Monday evening. "That was questioning our motive for doing it. The reality of it is, if people have concerns we want to go the extra mile to allow them to give us feedback."

Commissioners are seeking input on proposed boundaries for commissioner districts 1, 2 and 3, which will, for the most part, follow newly-minted county commissioner district boundaries.

Once every 10 years public utility districts must balance their boundaries to better reflect the latest population figures - the same reconfiguration of boundaries also required of county commissioner districts as well as state legislative and congressional districts.

The 2010 Census shows Grant County's population grew by 19.3 percent over the past decade and now has a population of 89,120 people. Currently, Grant PUD's district 1 has a population of 29,948, district 2 has 29,532 and district 3 has 29,640. The new target population per district is 29,707, according to Grant PUD officials.

At Monday's hearing, Grant PUD executive assistant Randalynn Hovland gave commissioners a brief overview of the newly drawn district maps, saying the intent was not only to get districts in line with current population counts, but to keep it easy for voters.

Grant County Commissioner Carolann Swartz, one of the few people present at the meeting, expressed her support for the new plan.

"Before, you might be in a different PUD district, a different commissioner district, then all this different balloting would have to take place," she said. "This cleans it up."

Flint agreed, saying Grant PUD commissioners view it as a good proposal that aligns with county commissioners. He said the PUD commission is still open to receiving feedback on the plan, although at this late juncture it may not prompt any big changes.   

"We're doing our due diligence to make sure everybody has an opportunity to give us feedback," he said. "But I wouldn't anticipate - unless there's a landslide of opposition - that we would change what our proposal is."

Visit www.gcpud.org to see the proposal, and click on "PUD Commission Page" to send a message to the commissioners. All comments must be received by April 23 so that commissioners can submit the redistricting plan before a May 1 deadline