PUD dealing with supply chain issues

The Wahkiakum County PUD Board of Commissioners met briefly on Tuesday for reports and to pass a resolution to surplus three trailers that belonged to the utility.

General Manager Dan Kay said that the PUD is “still having strong customer service work,” but it was beginning to slow with the change in the weather, and the crews were shifting to system improvements.

The PUD is dealing with supply chain issues, Kay said, and he was becoming more vigilant about lead times.

“We will work through them, whether it is transformers, meter, or wire,” he said.

In the meantime, the crew has been cleaning the yard, to determine what they have, and to see what works and what doesn’t.

Kay said that he and Commissioner Dennis Reid had met with Senator Maria Cantwell’s staffer recently, and that he and Commissioner Gene Healy would meet with a staffer from Representative Jaime Herrera Beutler’s office next week.

Auditor Erin Wilson has been preparing the budget for the coming year and talked to the commissioners about a change to a line item for vehicle replacement, which was lowered by a little over $58,000.

“Most likely if we spend any money out of that category next year, it will be to replace one of the smaller vehicles, but just in case the small bucket truck becomes available sooner, we’ll have the ability to follow through on that as well,” Wilson said.

Reid reported on the recent meeting with the staff member from Senator Cantwell’s office. He said he took the opportunity to explain that there were only 12 people working at Wahkiakum PUD, pointing out that it was a barrier to grant applications, which sometimes take hundreds of hours to prepare.

He said he also spoke to her about the county’s needs for water infrastructure and broadband, as well as the problem with other ISPs tying up federal funds.

“I think it was a good meeting and I think the more communication we have with our representatives, the better the chances of us getting something good from the government,” Reid said. “I encourage us to continue having those conversations.”

The commissioners approved a resolution to surplus three trailers that were built in 1945, 1953, and 1971.

“They are not roadworthy,” Kay said. His recommendation was that all three trailers go to the metal recycler.