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Revised 2006 budget is down by $23.3 million

Chelan County PUD
News Release
11/14/2005

Budget cuts and decisions to defer some projects have trimmed $23.3 million from Chelan County PUD’s proposed 2006 budget. Fine-tuning since the first draft was presented on Oct. 3 puts the latest 2006 spending plan at $290 million. The 2005 budget is $259 million.

TJ Farrell, PUD budget supervisor, and Joe Jarvis, chief financial officer, updated commissioners Monday. As in the initial budget, no electric, water or wastewater rate increases are proposed and no new debt is forecast, although the PUD may refinance some existing bonds to get lower interest rates. Much of the reduction came by deferring large construction projects at the dams for a savings of about $10 million, Farrell said.

The forecast for 2006 wholesale power revenues is now at $58.1 million. In addition to covering the cost of power to serve PUD customers, those funds are earmarked for a variety of District projects. Farrell reminded PUD commissioners that the 2006 spending plan supports a busy year to come including:

• $31.3 million for modernizing Rock Island Dam’s first powerhouse.
• $15.8 million to continue rehabilitating Rocky Reach generators.
• $11.4 million to continue building the fiber-optic network.
• $6.1 million to build a new transmission line from Rocky Reach Dam to the Andrew York/Monitor Switchyard. 

The budget also recognizes that some projects can no longer be deferred, such as major maintenance at several PUD parks and an increased commitment to trimming trees and testing and replacing power poles.

The final 2006 budget will go to PUD commissioners on Nov. 28, and staff will ask for approval of the spending plan on Dec. 5.

PUD parks are popular benefit of hydro power
PUD Parks staff provided background and discussed the District’s approach to maintaining and improving the “loved, but aging” parks built, and in some cases operated, by the PUD at Lake Chelan and along the Columbia River. Steve Currit, Parks and facilities director, noted increasing community requests for improvements at the parks, as well as a growing need for repairs. Entiat Park, the PUD’s first park, opened in 1978, and the finishing touches to Walla Walla Point Park in Wenatchee came in 1997. The parks were built to meet requirements of the PUD’s federal licenses to operate Rock Island, Rocky Reach and Lake Chelan dams. The PUD planned to build parks for other agencies to operate, but several of the parks have seen been returned to the PUD to operate.

Currit recapped the department’s philosophy to provide safe, quality recreation for park visitors. Ray Heit, Parks manager said more hours have been budgeted for seasonal park staff next year so that employees aren’t working alone. Next year’s budget also includes money for backlogged maintenance in PUD-owned parks.

The PUD will continue to help its operating partners with major maintenance costs, but funding for expansion would have to come from other sources, Currit added.  

In other business, commissioners:

• Heard from Tracy Yount on efforts by the three Mid-Columbia PUDs to analyze and respond to possible impacts on power production and fish protection from an interim operating plan proposed by an environmental group for the federal dams on the Columbia and Snake rivers. The plan, offered as part of a long-running federal District Court lawsuit over fish protection at the federal dams, may have adverse effects on operations at Wells, Rocky Reach, Rock Island, Wanapum and Priest Rapids dams. Yount said the three Mid-Columbia PUDs will file a legal brief on the impacts by the end of this week.  
• Learned that municipal streetlight rates have been reviewed for consistency and minor changes will be recommended for commission approval next month.
• Talked with Randy Stedman, Human Resources director, about 10 executive search firms interested in helping the District find a new general manager. PUD commissioners will reconvene at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday to review the proposals with the goal of choosing a short list of firms for interviews the first week of December.
• Listened to a report on the use of engineering consultants for District projects by Chris Church, Engineering Services director, and hydro engineering managers Brett Bickford and Bill Christman. Church said spending on consulting engineers ranges from 3 percent to 7 percent of total project costs. Engineering Services is managing about $425 million in PUD construction projects. Church emphasized that PUD engineering projects are always managed by District employees and consultants are used only when needed for expertise.

***

PUD commissioners adjourned and will reconvene at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday in the boardroom to discuss selection of an executive search firm to help find a new PUD general manager.

Commissioners will hold special meetings at 7 p.m. Tuesday in Entiat and Wednesday in Leavenworth to gather public comments on the qualifications and characteristics needed by the PUD’s new general manager. The meetings are in the Entiat school cafeteria and the Leavenworth Festhalle.

The next regular meeting of the PUD Board of Commissioners is at 10 a.m. on Monday, Nov.21, in the PUD boardroom at 327 N. Wenatchee Ave.

Most PUD commission meetings are recorded, and a link to the audio is available on the PUD’s home page at www.chelanpud.org.

Kimberlee Craig
Public Information Officer
661-4320, direct line
679-6858, cell
kimc@chelanpud.org