EPHRATA – The Grant County Public Utility District headquarters building, 30 C St. SW in Ephrata, will be closed from March 10 to March 21 to install accessibility upgrades and refurbish some of the public areas, according to PUD public information officer Christine Pratt. The upgrades will cost the utility district around $32,500.

“Basically, the idea is to lower part of the counter, so it makes it more wheelchair friendly,” Pratt said. “That counter is attended by customer service representatives. There are humans there to help out. The lower counter is just in case a customer in a wheelchair wants to come in and pay their bill in person, or if they have to come in to do any business and they maybe have to sign something. It's just going to be at a height that makes it more comfortable for them to do that.” 

Pratt said customers in wheelchairs have been able to access the counter, but it was too tall for them to do so comfortably. The upgrade is just to ensure all customers are accommodated and can receive the assistance they need.  

“We've just managed to work around it,” Pratt said. “I mean, the customer service representatives are pretty accommodating. Anybody who comes in gets on the same level of service. It's just that this is something that the law requires that we're doing now.” 

Outside of the ADA upgrade, the building will also be getting new furniture and will be touched up since it hasn’t been upgraded since it was built, according to Pratt.  

“Then they're also going to just kind of freshen the area up because it's been a long time, 15 or 20 years since all of that was built,” Pratt said. “They're just going to kind of (refurbish it) and add some new furniture and stuff to the area. But the main reason that it's closed is for ADA improvements.”  

The Moses Lake office will remain open at 312 W. Third Ave. for customers who need in-person assistance. The PUD’s customer service line will still be open at 509-766-2505 if customers need to talk to a person about their bill or any other topic. Customers can also visit GrantPud.org to pay their bills and have questions answered.