Dale Walker seeks second term on PUD commission
CHERYL SCHWEIZER | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 9 years, 4 months AGO
The Sun Tribune News stock
Senior Reporter Cheryl Schweizer is a journalist with more than 30 years of experience serving small communities in the Pacific Northwest. She began her post-high-school education at Treasure Valley Community College and enerned her journalism degree at Oregon State University. After working for multiple publications, she has settled down at the Columbia Basin Herald and has been a staple of the newsroom for more than a decade. Schweizer’s dedication to her communities and profession has earned her the nickname “The Baroness of Bylines.” She covers a variety of beats including health, business and various municipalities. | July 26, 2016 6:00 AM
EPHRATA — Incumbent Dale Walker will run for a second term on the Grant County PUD commission.
Walker represents District No. 2, which includes Moses Lake, Warden and the area between the two communities. If he wins, it would be Walker’s second six-year term.
Walker said he’s “been a strong advocate that our utility needs to do a better job of managing its money,” and adds that has improved with the restructuring of some of the PUD’s debt. But Walker said he is “still at odds” with the commissioners and PUD management on the current rate structure.
He’s also a strong supporter of the PUD’s fiber program and supports a continued buildout.
The current rate policy calls for a 10-year series of rate increases that hike rates 2 percent overall each year, although specific rate increases are different for different rate classes.
“I am not a fan” of the philosophy behind it, Walker said.
The PUD finished 2015 with a $72 million net profit, and in those circumstances he thinks rate hikes are unnecessary.
“This utility no more needs rate increases than the man in the moon,” he said.
Walker said rate hikes would be justifiable if the PUD was facing a situation where a much bigger rate increase would be necessary in the future, but he doesn’t think that’s the case. The PUD’s debt will be heavy the next few years, he said, as it borrows money to pay for upgrades to turbines and generators at Priest Rapids Dam. But “long-term, they (debts) go down.”
ARTICLES BY CHERYL SCHWEIZER
Priest Rapids Dam oil spill still in cleanup stage
MATTAWA — People downstream of Priest Rapids Dam are being asked to look for evidence of oil on the waters of the Columbia River following a spill of mineral oil at the dam Wednesday. Department of Ecology officials are asking boaters to stay off the river between Priest Rapids and Pasco while crews work to clean up the oil, according to a PUD press release. Absorbent booms were put in the water to collect the oil downstream of the dam and are still there, said Christine Pratt, public information officer with the Grant County PUD, in the PUD press release. The booms will stay there until the Department of Ecology allows their removal.
Royal SD voters to decide on educational programs and operations levy in February
ROYAL CITY — Royal School District voters will be asked to accept or reject a two-year educational programs and operations levy request in a special election Feb. 10. If it’s approved, it would replace the district’s existing levy approved by voters in 2024. Royal Superintendent Roger Trail said the levy rate would remain unchanged.
Moses Lake resident interrupts burglary in her garage
MOSES LAKE — A Moses Lake resident came face to face with a burglar early Wednesday morning at her residence near the 100 block of South Division Avenue. Moses Lake Police Department Captain Jeff Sursely said in most cases, a burglar is looking for something that looks easy to steal.