West Richland Real Estate Blog

Sometime later this year, the city of West Richland may decide on a new technology to power the city’s street lights. Up for discussion is a switch to either LED or induction-based street lights.

Public Works Director Roscoe Slade tells us via email that street light “technology is rapidly improving and the cost continues to decrease.” He says the city is reviewing both induction and LED light manufacturers with the Benton REA, but he doesn’t expect a change in the city standard until later this year.

LED vs. Induction Lights

I’m no expert on street light options, so while trading emails with Roscoe and writing this post, I did a little online research to learn more about LED and induction lights. I quickly found this Frequently Asked Questions page on GreenStreetLights.com. If explains what both LED and induction lights are, and offers this three-point list about the benefits of switching to energy efficient street lights:

Reduced energy usage.
Savings can be as much as 30 to 60%.

Long bulb life.
Bulbs are rated at 100,000 hours, which can equal about 20 years of life, based on normal street light operating hours.

Short pay back of initial investment.
Depending on energy and maintenance costs, pay back can occur between 3 and 7 years.

Benton REA is currently testing some induction street lights on Kona Drive (near Belmont) to verify actual energy savings compared to regular street lights. You can tell which ones they are because they have a whiter light than the rest of the street lights.

If the city does choose to change its standard for street lights, Slade says news developments would be built with the new lights and “then the City would pursue grants / funding to begin retrofitting the rest of the City.”

The Benton REA building in West Richland will have a new interior look soon, and part of that will involve closing the drive-up payment window. The window is closed for good right now, and will not be open during business hours tomorrow.

The local office is expanding so that engineering and operations employees will all be under one roof in the main office building. To do that, they’ll be converting the area that’s currently being used for the drive-thru payment window. The walk-up payment drop box will stay open at the front of the office building.

Construction starts tomorrow (Feb. 8th) but the office itself will stay open during regular business hours. The project is expected to be finished by the end of the April.

Keene Road will be closed for a couple weeks later this month while the city does some road repairs. The closure will affect the portion of Keene Rd. between Bombing Range Rd. (the roundabout) and South Highlands Drive.

This’ll be an inconvenience for some folks who use that route to access Wiley Elementary for drop-off and pick-up. It’s also an inconvenience for the LDS church along Keene — the city says access there will be available via West Lattin Rd. and a gravel portion of Watkins Way.

The closure will last about two weeks, and will start later this month. Roscoe Slade, the city’s Public Works Director, says they’re aiming for the last week of February to begin the closure, but it will depend on the weather.

It’s not posted on the city’s web site yet, but the February edition of the “City Scene” newsletter — that’s the thing you get in your utility bill — includes a message from new mayor Donna Noski.

The most interesting part to me is the news that West Richland will soon be sending out its “first community wide survey in almost a decade.” She also mentions that there will be “neighborhood meetings” and “community events” coming up to get more citizen input.

I’m trying to find out if all West Richland homes will receive the survey, or just a smaller selection. Will update this post if I get a reply from the mayor.

Update: And in about an hour, already have an email reply from Mayor Noski. She says the survey will be city-wide and will probably be done via direct mail. The goal is to have the surbey out in March, but that may depend on the City Council’s review of the survey during the February 16th meeting. If they have a lot of changes, it may get pushed back.

I’ve been going to the new Club 24 Express Fitness for a couple weeks now — since it first opened, actually. Nice facility, staff is nice, never too crowded, etc. Very happy with everything, except this: the view from the treadmills.

Do you have any idea how difficult it is to stare at a grocery store while you’re trying to lose weight? To spend 30+ minutes watching moms and dads come out with a cart full of delicious food, their kids frolicking across the parking lot with a candy bar in hand?

Woe is me…

Did you catch this in the news this week? Winemaker Joel Tefft is planning to open a distillery here in West Richland — it’ll be the first distillery in southeastern Washington. The groundbreaking for Black Heron Spirits Distillery and Ports Works was Wednesday out at the intersection of Keene Rd. and Van Giesen.

Here’s how KNDU covered the event.