Conley says goodbye to PUD commission

GRANT COUNTY - Mike Conley said that one of his greatest memories in more than a decade as a commissioner on the Grant County Public Utility District was in meeting with elders of the Wanapum who live at Priest Rapids.

"I still have just a great warm feeling with the Wanapum people," Conley said, "I'm planning on still being involved with them."

After 12 years on the Grant County PUD commission, Conley attended his last as a member of that commission Monday.

Conley was first elected to the PUD commission in 1992. He ran for the job partially because he said it would be a great opportunity for him to help shape the future of Grant County. He also saw his decades-long experience as a commercial banker as an asset to the job.

"I saw my background as a banker as something different than what was on the board at that time," Conley said.

When he was first elected, Conley replaced R.W. Goodwin, who had served on the PUD commission for nearly a quarter-century. Conley said that Goodwin told him when he was first elected that he was young enough to see through the relicensing of the Priest Rapids Project. Conley said that he is proud of his involvement towards obtaining a new license for the dams from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, and he said that relicensing is one issue that the commission has been working towards for his last 10 years on the commission.

"We're not done yet," Conley said of the Priest Rapids relicensing, "Even though we've got a good application submitted."

Project relicensing is something that Conley said he would have liked to have seen when he was on the commission, but he counts another venture as one of his greatest achievements since coming to work for the PUD 12 years ago.

"My involvement in getting the telecommunications legislation through the state legislature," Conley said.

Conley called the telecommunications legislation the first major change in the utility's authority since PUDs were formed in the 1930s.

Conley has also been working as a manager for the Port of Mattawa and the Warden Port District since taking office, but said that he has always put the PUD first.

"It was always my first priority," Conley said, "It was probably one of the most interesting jobs I've had in my life.'

Conley said that the commission has had to make some tough decisions in the last few years, especially with the PUD's telecommunications system. He said some of those decisions have been difficult, and citizens have been vocal about those issues.

PUD staff and fellow commissioners paid tribute to Conley Monday, and presented him with a certificate of appreciation for his years of service to the utility. It was the last commission meeting of the year, and the last for Conley. He was defeated in his bid for reelection in November. Greg Hansen will be sworn in as the PUD commission's newest member Jan. 3.

Conley probably won't find himself driving to the PUD commission room in Ephrata each week; but he said he will attend commission meetings in the future, if there is something on the agenda that he is interested in. He said he has plans now to play a little more golf, as soon as the weather warms up.

He is also continuing his work at the Port of Mattawa, a place he has worked since 1990. He acknowledged that one of the more beautiful things about working at the port is his closeness to the dams, which can sometimes be a long trek from Ephrata.

"It was an opportunity that not the average commissioner had a chance to see," he said.

One of the hardest parts now, Conley said, will be not having the same impact on the utility. He added that the commission has got some challenges ahead of it in the near future.

"I learned a lot, and got to work with some great people," he said.