New PUD manager's salary set

EPHRATA — New Grant County PUD general manager Kevin Nordt will make $10,385 every two weeks, or $270,010 per year. That’s compared to a salary of $10,300 every two weeks, or $267,800 per year, for former general manager Tony Webb, who resigned from the general manager’s position effective May 31. (Webb will remain as an assistant general manager.)

Commissioners approved the resolution setting the salary during the regular commission meeting Tuesday. Nordt, who was the PUD’s chief financial officer, will take over the general manager’s job June 1. He was appointed to the new role in February as part of the district’s strategic plan, according to a February Columbia Basin Herald article.

In other business, comments from commissioner Bob Bernd led to a discussion about bureaucracy, timeliness and commission productivity.

Bernd has been on the commission 10 years, and said he was getting “increasingly frustrated with the time it takes us to work through the bureaucracy to get anything done.” He said he wasn’t criticizing the PUD staff, which works to meet commission requests, and that some, maybe a lot, of the blame lies with the commission and a lack of clear and concise direction.

But there are “several areas” where progress is slow, he said, and cited rate design. Rate design was supposed to be a major focus of the commission in 2016, but “it’s June and we haven’t even started rate design.” Utility district employees are working on rate design and rate proposals, Bernd said, but commissioners and employees won’t have time to discuss rate design philosophy like they should before it’s time to approve 2017 rates.

The commission gave approval about 18 months ago for a county-wide wireless system to supplement the district’s fiber program, but in Bernd’s opinion that’s lagging behind schedule. “I think we could move faster.”

He also cited a lack of progress on policies to govern the relationship with Internet service providers who buy from the PUD and sell to retail customers. There are successful examples, but the PUD can’t seem to make one, he said.

The PUD has been working for a long time on the installation of automatic metering, but Bernd said he doesn’t know how that project is progressing either. Commissioner Terry Brewer said he asked for an update a couple of meetings ago and still hasn’t received it.

Bernd also mentioned LED streetlights. There’s a lot of construction going on in Moses Lake complete with streetlights, but none are LED, he said. “We’ve got sections of Wilson Creek and Coulee City where the lighting is so terrible they might as well not have streetlights. Why aren’t we going somewhere with this?”

Brewer said the board did receive an update on an LED pilot project, but no feedback yet. Bernd said that was one street, and asked why the PUD was testing a technology in use throughout the world. Webb said the pilot project was designed to determine the most efficient way to use and maintain the lights.

Bernd said he understands the PUD staff has been working on other projects – relicensing, working on retail rates and damage at Wanapum Dam that required a year of repairs. “But I want to keep going,” he said. “I just feel there’s more we can do.” Bernd suggested a monthly report on some of the ongoing projects. Commissioners used to meet weekly, and Bernd said he wasn’t ready to go back to that schedule, but it seemed the commission got more done with weekly meetings.

Brewer said he too thought the rate design process would include monthly updates. If the process drags out there won’t be enough time for customers to review and react to proposals before the commissioners have to make a decision, Brewer said.

“We’ll have to find that sweet spot, because there’s a lot of stuff going on,” Webb said. Employees already have a lot to do, he said, and updates to the commissioners have to be answered in a way that doesn’t slow down progress.

Cheryl Schweizer can be reached via email at education@columbiabasinherald.com.