Relicensing, fiber top issues in PUD race

Hansen, Blackwell challenge incumbent Conley

Herald staff writers

The three candidates for the district two seat on the PUD commission agree that relicensing is the most important task before the PUD.

But the biggest fight, it seems, will continue to be over the future of the PUD's fiber-optics system.

Greg Hansen, a Moses Lake semi-retired realtor, said the most important issue at the PUD is relicensing and the biggest is the fiber-optics system.

"Without relicensing, we are dead," Hansen said.

Lee Blackwell, a Moses Lake city councilman, said a plan is needed to map out where the fiber system is going.

"No more passing of the buck," Blackwell said.

And incumbent Mike Conley, running for his third six-year term, said his experience is needed to make sure the PUD sees all the benefits of the relicensed Priest Rapids Hydroelectric Project.

"Relicensing is not done, and that's the single most important issue," Conley said.

District two is centered around Moses Lake and surrounding rural areas.

In the Sept. 14 primary, only voters in that area will be able to cast their ballots in this race.

Conley said some groups — such as the U.S. Department of Fish and Wildlife and the Yakama Nation — want benefits from the project, and the

PUD needs an experienced commissioner to make sure they don't receive too

many.

As far as fiber is concerned, Conley said mistakes were made, but the PUD

must move forward because a lot of people in Grant County want the service.

Conley said the most unfair criticisms of the commission during the controversies over fiber revolve around how much commissioners knew.

"The PUD is a lot bigger than just fiber," he said. "I try to make the best decisions I can based on the information I'm getting. Some of that information wasn't right."

The fairest criticism, Conley said, was of the commissioners' slowness in reigning in fiber administrators' spending. Commissioners tried to restrict spending in a "handshake deal," Conley said, but it should have been with an official resolution.

"We probably didn't do it soon enough, and we didn't do it by resolution," he said.

Funding further buildout of the system is still a question. Conley said he would not support any further loans from the electric system and questions how the fiber system will pay back a recently approved $3 million loan.

He added that he now does not think the PUD will ever build out to the entire county (a goal stated in 2000 at the beginning of the program), and wireless technology will have to fill the gaps.

Conley said he supports keeping power rates low, and the commission has directed staff to bring forth a 2005 budget that does not put pressure on rates.

"The only way I would support a rate increase is if it would impact our bond rating," he said.

Early projections point to a rate reduction in 2007, Conley said, but he is not willing to make a definite declaration.

Hansen said relicensing is almost complete, with only environmental mitigation issues left to square away. He added he does not foresee any problems with the process.

At the same time, Hansen said the state of the fiber optics issue cannot continue like it is.

"We have to come up with a plan," he said. "Revenue has got to start covering the expenses."

The troubles with the fiber has brought a series of consequences, Hansen said, including the rise of rates while Conley has been commissioner.

Hansen directed his words to the other commissioners, as well.

"The current commissioners did not have a clue what to do with it," he said. "They did not have a plan then and they don't have a plan now."

Debt and accountability within the PUD concern Hansen as well.

"We have got to slow debt down," he said. Regarding accountability, he said the district did not seem to be looking out for the taxpayers.

Changing commissioners would be key, he said. If elected, Hansen said he would ask for more accountability.

"I would make people answer for their actions, and maybe even grade them on their actions," he said.

Should he win the election, Hansen said he would keep a close eye on the relicensing process, too, becoming "a watchdog" of the rate payers.

"I have been watching the PUD for quite a few years now," he said. "And I

don't like what I am seeing."

Blackwell said what motivated him to run were the improprieties and inattentions by the commissioners, as well as the lack of a vision and a workable policy.

He believes the most important issue is the relicensing, although, in his opinion, it is not the district's biggest task.

"The major job is to provide substantial support to community while

limiting expenditures," Blackwell said.

Should he win the election, Blackwell said, he would find out the intricacies of the relicensing process, asking the staff and the other commissioners how he can contribute.

The second most important issue for the district, he said, is the fiber-optic system.

While it is crucial for the economic growth of the county that the fiber

system grows, he said, this cannot be done without holding the PUD

commissioners and staff accountable, making every dollar count.

Blackwell said the PUD needs to have a commission that sets a vision for

the district's staff and the citizens.

The PUD's top three fiber managers (Don Godard, Ed Williams and Coe Hutchison) were let go in what Blackwell termed was an "appropriate" measure. The commissioners need to provide a vision and a strong set of policies to guide the staff, he said.

Fiber is also a legal issue the PUD has to deal with, Blackwell said, highlighting lawsuits against the district from service providers.

Not only do lawsuits need to be confronted expeditiously, he said, but

the legal counsel of the PUD needs to be asked how it allowed the entity

to become enmeshed in what he termed was "a mess.

"I did not see (the legal counsel) wave a flag, saying 'Hey, wait a minute,'" Blackwell said.

Despite these issues, Blackwell said he has confidence in PUD General Manager Tim Culbertson and his staff being able to set plans and budgets.

There is a future in fiber for the PUD, Blackwell added.

If elected, Blackwell said he would continue working to complete the system, while leaving the door open to other technologies. These technologies, however, would have to be compatible with the fiber optics system.

"I am the kind of person who likes to take on challenges," Blackwell said. "That means recognizing the problems, proposing solutions, acting expeditiously and recognizing good and poor performance."&&2"Ohmc$e*pud raceMain_Server&&2Ohm