Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business -- February 2018

February 2018

Volume 17 • Issue 2

Fairchild kicks off Pasco remodel, new Kennewick cinema

BY JEFF MORROW

for Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business

Banking & Finance

Global Credit Union closes Tri-City branches Page 11

Viticulture

Enrollment growing at WSU Wine Science Center Page 27

Real Estate & Construction

Control of Vandervert Construction placed in receivership page 49

he Said It “It’s free business mentoring. You can walk in here and we will help you succeed. You’d be incredulous at how easy it is to help you launch a business.”

- Paul Casey, chairman of Mid-Columbia TriCities SCORE chapter Page 6

Ever since Fairchild Cinemas posted a “Coming Soon” sign last year in a vacant field across the street from the Kennewick Walmart, moviegoers in the south Kennewick area have been anticipating the first shovel turn of dirt.

That time could happen by month’s end.

“Plans have just gone to the engineers,” said Mamie Gale, general manager of Fairchild Cinemas. “We’re going to break ground at the end of February. The plan is to build it Mamie Gale from March through December, just like we did at Queensgate. It’ll be ready for customers for the holidays.”

As the multimillion dollar Kennewick construction project ramps up, remodeling work at the Pasco theater will be nearing completion.

Gale said the company is in the middle of remodeling Pasco’s 12-screen theater.

Fairchild applied for a $169,200 building permit to remodel the lobby in January, according to public building records.

“Because of the age of the Pasco theater and the success that we have had with moviegoers, we felt that the time was right to give Pasco a facelift. The lobby will look similar to the lobby of our Richland theater,” Gale said.

The Pasco theater opened in May 2007.

“Normally when a theater gets to be 10 years old, there needs to be some remodeling,” Gale said. “And usually it could have been done after eight years.”

The improvements won’t include the popular high-end reclining chairs and opportunity to buy alcohol that moviegoers enjoy at the Queensgate theater, which opened in 2015, just in time for “Star Wars: The Force Awakens.” uFAIRCHILD, Page 4

Traffic backups are common on Queensgate Drive in south Richland as drivers wait to merge onto Interstate 182 or Columbia Park Trail. Drivers can expect more delays as the city and state begin to build two roundabouts in the area next month as part of a $3.9 million construction project.

Richland roundabouts expected to alleviate Queensgate jams

BY ROBIN WOJTANIK

for Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business

More roundabouts are coming to the TriCities.

Construction begins next month on two Queensgate Drive traffic circles in Richland.

Though delays, backups and detours will come with construction of the $3.9 million road project, the end result is expected to improve traffic flow in the congested south Richland area.

It’s common for rush hour traffic snarls at Queensgate Drive, Interstate 182 and Columbia Park Trail to back up traffic onto Keene Road.

The project also includes a dedicated right turn lane on westbound Keene Road at

Queensgate.

One roundabout will be at the QueensgateColumbia Park Trail intersection, and the other at Queensgate and the eastbound I-182 ramps, just south of the bridge over the interstate.

The project is expected to be done in July.

No changes will be made to the ramps for traffic entering or exiting I-182 westbound, but the backups drivers frequently experience there are expected to be alleviated with the south Queensgate improvements.

“The hope is, when roundabouts are in and traffic is flowing, you won’t have backups north of there,” said Julie West, a civil engineer for Richland’s public works department. uROUNDABOUT, Page 23

Dueling marijuana bills at odds over who has authority to ban pot shops

BY MICHELLE DUPLER

for Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business

A series of bills introduced in the Washington state Legislature highlight dueling approaches to marijuana regulation in the state — and spell possible uncertainty for cannabis businesses.

While Rep. David Sawyer, D-Tacoma, said a pair of bills he introduced aim to enhance state-level control over Washington’s legal cannabis market, Rep. Brad Klippert, R-Kennewick, wrote legislation that instead would give local governments more regulatory control and greater

ability to ban pot businesses within their borders.

One bill introduced by Sawyer — House Bill 2336 — would only allow local governments to prohibit marijuana businesses through a public vote. And a recent amendment made in the House Committee on Commerce and Gaming, which Sawyer chairs, would require those elections to be held only in even-numbered years.

Under Sawyer’s bill, if a local government opted to enact a ban, it would apply across the board to all similar businesses, such as all marijuana retail shops. uMARIJUANA, Page 37

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Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • February 2018

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • February 2018

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Trios Health puts new leaders in charge of operations Quorum employees appointed to CEO, finance director positions

BY KRISTINA LORD editor@tcjournal.biz

Trios Health has appointed two new leaders to key roles to oversee the beleaguered Kennewick hospital system.

Both are Quorum Health Resources employees.

The Tennessee-based consultants were hired by the Kennewick Public Hospital Board of Commissioners in 2016 to help analyze and manage the financial crisis that forced Trios into Chapter 9 bankruptcy last summer.

The public hospital board appointed Mark Armstrong as interim chief executive officer, effective Feb. 1.

He succeeds Craig Cudworth, also a Quorum employee, who served as the hospital’s CEO and chief restructuring officer for the Mark Armstrong last year.

Trios is mum on why it opted to swap Cudworth for Armstrong.

“Feb. 1 the contract (with Cudworth) was up and the board decided we’d feel better with a different CEO,” said board President Marvin Kinney. “He was our contracted consultant, and in our agreement with Quorum, we could say we want somebody else.”

Kinney said the contract didn’t require Trios to provide a reason.

The hospital board recently renewed its Quorum contract.

Trios officials have declined to release information about the contract, citing bankruptcy protection providing a “breathing spell” from “undue distractions.”

The initial $395,000 Quorum contract was for one year with an option to renew.

Kinney said permanent leaders wouldn’t be hired until after the hospital district is on better financial footing.

“I think we’re looking at an interim CEO until the hospital is out of bankruptcy or is sold. If it’s sold, the new people or whoever buys it will pick someone,” Kinney said, adding this would likely be the case with the CFO position as well.

Trios Health, which operates two hospitals and multiple outpatient care centers throughout Kennewick, filed for bankruptcy protection as it works to reorganize $221 million in debt.

Armstrong’s already familiar with Trios, because he’s worked with the hospital district since 2016 when the board hired Quorum.

He has more than 23 years of industry experience, having served in roles of CEO, chief operating officer, chief financial officer and chief restructuring officer for a variety of health care provider organizations.

Armstrong also has managed and led the day-to-day operational, financial and outcomes performance of acute and ambulatory hospital services, large provider organizations, skilled nursing facilities and long-term acute care programs.

“Mark brings a wealth of relevant experience that will help Trios hardwire the improvements already in progress and

provide continuity as we continue working through the bankruptcy process,” Kinney said in a statement. “We appreciate his willingness to step in at this critical time and look forward to his leadership as we return the organization to financial health.”

Armstrong will serve in the role until a new interim CEO is identified.

New CFO

Trios’ new chief financial officer is Michael Rolph.

He replaces Tony Sudduth, who had been with Trios since 2014. Sudduth took a job with a Florida startup corporation that buys and manages hospitals. His last day was Feb. 2.

The board agreed to bring on an interim CFO on Jan. 22, as part of the Quorum contract.

Rolph’s position oversees Trios’ financial, accounting and budgetary functions, information technology, facility maintenance, patient financial services, and health information management.

He has more than 30 years of experience in health care finance leadership positions, providing integration strategy and implementation, physician practice management, strategic financial planning and health care system financial oversight to a variety of organizations in the healthcare indusMichael Rolph try.

He has held leadership positions including as chief executive officer with Via Financial Insight Inc. in Sarasota, Florida, and as senior vice president and CFO with Sarasota Memorial Healthcare System, also in Sarasota, and FirstHealth of the Carolinas, headquartered in Pinehurst, North Carolina.

uTRIOS, Page 18

Darci Nilson and Douglas Oord are pleased to announce that Jean Petersen has joined Nilson & Oord PLLC. Jean has 13 years of experience in the community as a trusted tax preparer and will be a tremendous addition to our team.

(509) 737-0210 • 1600 Fowler Street, Richland, WA 99352

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Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • February 2018

509-737-8778 8919 W. Grandridge Blvd., Ste. A1 Kennewick, WA 99336 tcjournal.biz

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CORRECTIONS

• Chad Mackay’s name was misspelled on page 25 in the January story about Walla Walla’s new Eritage resort.

• Trios Health laid off nine employees in January. The wrong number was reported on page 1 last month because of incorrect information provided to the Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business. See updated story on page 3.

UPCOMING March Focuses: • Hospitality • Insurance

April Focuses: • Sustainability • Transportation • Plus new glossy magazine, Focus: Agriculture + Viticulture The Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business, a publication of TriComp Inc., is published monthly and delivered at no charge to identifiable businesses in Pasco, Richland, West Richland, Kennewick, Prosser and Benton City. Subscriptions are $27.10 per year, including tax, prepayment required, no refunds. Contents of this publication are the sole property of TriComp Inc. and can not be reproduced in any form without expressed written consent. Opinions expressed by contributors and advertisers do not necessarily reflect the opinions of staff, other contributors or other advertisers, nor do they imply endorsement by staff, contributors or advertisers. Every effort will be made to assure information published is correct; however, we are not liable for any errors or omissions made despite these efforts.

Fairchild Cinemas expects to break ground at the end of February on the new 10-screen theater in south Kennewick, anticipating a December opening. (Courtesy Paradigm Design Group of Michigan)

FAIRCHILD, From page 1 “We cannot change the chairs platform,” Gale said. “We need 72 inches (deep) for a row, and in Pasco we have just 48 inches.”

The Pasco cinemas are considered the company’s bargain theater.

“We see mom and dad go on dates at Queensgate, and families come here because it’s cheaper,” Gale said. “A lot of people who come (to Pasco) are families.

The tickets are cheaper here than at Queensgate.”

Adult ticket prices for movies after 6 p.m. at Queensgate are $13.50, but in Pasco, those same tickets cost $11.25.

Fairchild also offers budget Tuesdays at the Pasco theater only, where all movie tickets are $5.50 that day.

Fairchild is taking some of the features that work at Queensgate and duplicating them in Pasco, like for concessions.

“It’ll have belly-up concessions, just like we have at Queensgate,” Gale said.

“And self-service soda, like Queensgate.”

That will help alleviate most of the come to the theaters.”

The Pasco remodel project began Jan. problems with longer lines as the movie 16, and Gale said the company’s sevenpreviews begin, Gale said.

Also planned is new flooring in the the- week timeline has the project scheduled to aters, Gale said. “We’ll put new carpeting be completed by the end of February.

The work is already costing more than in the lobby and hallways. We’ll be painting the interior. We’re adding new tile expected. “We set a budget here for Pasco around the snack bar, and getting rid of the and have gone over it,” Gale said.

As for the Kennewick construction café,” she said. project, Gale said the The snack bar projoriginal plans called ect has been done in KENNEWICK FAIRCHILD for 12 screens but have phases, with half being been scaled back. shut down and remodBY THE NUMBERS The popularity of eled, then reopened u 10 screens the Dolby Atmos thewhile the other half is u 1,000 seats aters that Fairchild shut down and remodu 40 new employees uses — which call for eled. u Project cost: $6 million+ “There will be no larger screens — conshutting down any vinced company offiauditorium for a cials to build a few lengthy period of time,” Gale said. “Maybe more of those in Kennewick and drop the it’ll take three to five days in the middle of number of screens to 10. the week for something to be done in an The actual square footage of the buildauditorium. But all theaters will be open ing — about 43,000 square feet — will be for the weekend, when most customers about the same size as Queensgate.

An additional 10 feet in depth will be added to each auditorium. “This allows us to give each seat platform an extra 3 inches and an additional 7 feet between the front row of seats and the screens. Queensgate has 1,100 seats. Kennewick will have 1,000,” Gale said.

The theater will be built on leased land, making the cost of the theater more than $6 million, Gale said. The new theater will be at 2909 S. Quillan St., between Quillan and South Olson streets.

Like Queensgate, the Kennewick theater also will offer reserved seating, in which customers can choose their seats online before arriving; luxury leather reclining seats; and entrée meals and local• love meeting new people? ly sourced beer and wine.

• enjoy working with senior citizens?

Fairchild Cinemas was started by Jeff Fairchild. He has an eight-screen Fairchild • want to make a difference in someone’s life?

Cinemas Theater in Moses Lake in addition to the 24 screens in Pasco and Richland.

Your skills are needed! The Southwest Washington LongGale said the company has about 120 Term Ombudsman Program is seeking volunteer advocates. employees between the three locations.

The new Kennewick theater will add Volunteers are asked to devote four hours per week visiting another 40 employees, she said, in addition to giving the company 42 screens in four residents of nursing homes, assisted living facilities and locations – including 34 in the Tri-Cities. adult family homes. Get to know residents and become an That’s likely enough in the Tri-Cities advocate for resident rights and quality care. for Fairchild.

“I think Kennewick will be it,” Gale said. “You can only grow so many screens Volunteers receive 32 hours of training which includes 8 hours in the area.” of face-to-face time and 24 hours of independent study.

Add 12 screens at the Kennewick AMC Theaters and another eight screens at Regal Cinemas at Columbia Center and For an application or more information, contact that’s a total of 44 Tri-City movie screens Elizabeth Claridge (509) 520-5162 that will grow to 54 when the Kennewick elizabethc@bmacww.org theater opens.

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Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • February 2018 uBUSINESS BRIEFS Fire destroys Pasco onion shed

Fire officials are working to determine the cause of a fire at a Pasco onion shed that burned to the ground Feb. 2.

Damage was significant, with estimated losses of $3 million, according to the Pasco Fire Department.

Twenty-eight firefighters from the Pasco Fire Department, Richland Fire Department, Franklin Fire District 3 and Walla Walla Fire District 5 responded to CSS Farms at 4560 Venture Place at 3 a.m.

The six acres of land and metalframed 33,260-square-foot shed, built in 1989, are valued at more than $900,000, according to Franklin County assessor’s records.

Crews concentrated efforts on electrical sources and two large propane tanks in front of the building.

CSS Farms, which has operations in 13 states, grows onions and potatoes outside of Pasco.

Tri-City voters affected by state software glitch

Nearly 200 Benton County voters and 78 Franklin County voters were affected by the state Department of Licensing voter registration software malfunction, which prevented thousands of DOL customers from becoming registered to vote.

Nearly 7,000 applicants statewide were not registered to vote after they thought they had registered at the DOL.

This issue affected 192 Benton County voters, and the Benton County Auditor’s Office Elections Department worked to ensure all those voters were registered and would receive ballots for the Feb. 13 special election.

The Washington Secretary of State is conducting additional analysis to ensure that all future DOL registration information is transferred correctly for proper voter registration.

$113.9 million in construction projects approved for WSU

The nearly $114 million for construction and renovation projects throughout the Washington State University system has been approved by state lawmakers and Gov. Jay Inslee.

The funding is part of the $4.3 billion capital budget that state lawmakers approved last month.

Local WSU projects included in the plan: • Design development for new academic building on Tri-Cities campus, $3 million.

• Joint Center for Deployment and Research in Earth Abundant Materials, a collaborative venture with the University of Washington and the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, $2 million.

AARP Tax-Aide volunteers offer free tax prep help

Volunteers for AARP Foundation Tax-Aide are ready to help make sure those 50 and older get all the tax

deductions and credits they deserve.

The free service is for low- to moderate-income taxpayers — especially those 50 and older — and is individualized. AARP membership is not required.

AARP Foundation Tax-Aide will provide free tax preparation and electronic filing at sites throughout the state through April 17.

Whether you are a first time taxpayer, just starting retirement, or someone who simply needs a bit of help to get through your tax returns this year due to life changes that make your taxes a little more complicated, AARP’s team of IRS-certified volunteers stands ready to help.

Among the items and forms to bring to an appointment are last year’s tax return, official identification for yourself and every person on your return, and a checkbook, if you want to direct deposit a refund, W-2 forms, unemployment statements, SSA-1099 Form and forms showing mortgage interest.

For more information, visit aarp.org/ findtaxhelp or call 888-227-7669.

AARP Foundation Tax-Aide is offered in conjunction with the IRS. • Richland Public Library: 955 Northgate Drive; 509-942-7454.

When: 5 to 7:30 p.m. Wednesdays and 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. Saturdays.

• Richland Community Center: 500 Amon Park Drive; dial 211 for appointments.

When: 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. Tuesdays and 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. Thursdays.

• Mid-Columbia Libraries,

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Kennewick branch: 1620 S. Union St.; 509-783-7878.

When: 5 to 7:30 p.m. Mondays, 5 to 7:30 p.m. Tuesdays and noon to 2:30 p.m. Thursdays.

• Mid-Columbia Libraries, Keewaydin Park branch: 405 S. Dayton St., Kennewick.

When: 12:30 to 5 p.m. Wednesdays and 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Saturdays.

• Mid-Columbia Libraries, Pasco branch: 1320 W. Hopkins St. When: 4 to 6 p.m. Wednesdays.

Spanish language assistance available • Pasco City Hall Activity Center: 525 N. Third Ave.; 509-5453459.

When: 9 to 11:30 a.m. Mondays.

Appointments are required. Walk-in appointments available on space-available basis.

Policy center opens Center for Workers Rights

The Washington Policy Center has created a Center for Worker Rights that will focus on employee issues, promoting labor reform policies to end forced unionism and protecting workers’ rights. The center is part of a three-year growth plan.

The center’s director is Erin Shannon who has worked on smallbusiness issues for the WPC for six years.

She can be reached at 360-705-6543 or eshannon@washingtonpolicy.org.

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Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • February 2018

Revitalized business mentoring group seeks to serve budding entrepreneurs Tri-City SCORE counselors want to help small businesses succeed

BY KRISTINA LORD editor@tcjournal.biz

A Richland entrepreneur credits a free business mentoring program for enabling him to quit his day job to focus on his own company.

Brandon Andersen said monthly meetings with his SCORE mentor kept him accountable and provided honest feedback.

“Sometimes you tell people your idea and they say, ‘Oh yeah, that’s great. You should do it.’ With SCORE mentoring, they ask, ‘What’s your first step? Your second? Can you do it in next month to make it happen?’ It’s like accountability for what you’re going to do for your business,” said the 29-year-old Andersen.

SCORE’s Mid-Columbia Tri-Cities chapter has a new face at the helm of its board. Paul Casey is serving as chairman.

“We’re the best kept secret in your town.

It’s sad. It’s free business mentoring. You can walk in here and we will help you succeed. You’d be incredulous at how easy it is to help you launch a business,” Casey said.

SCORE counselors help develop business plans, test the potential of a new business idea and determine solutions to business problems.

Andersen has relied on SCORE off and on for a couple of years.

He owns Bonsai Audio, an entertainment company offering DJ and photo booth services for weddings, corporate parties, business grand openings and other events.

His business’ success is “largely due to my SCORE mentoring,” he said. “It’s helped just managing the growth and stuff.”

He and his wife, Veronica, who co-owns the business, have five part-time employees. Bonsai Audio also recently joined the Tri-Cities Regional Chamber of Commerce.

Casey has invited Andersen to a few networking groups, which he said has been helpful.

“I never would have thought to go to the Hispanic chamber on my own. It was a good idea to go meet people.

Next month we’re going to carpool up to the Walla Walla chamber,” said Andersen, whose business goal is for his company Brandon Andersen to be the premier DJ services company for the area.

Former SCORE chairman Simon Mahler was known for serving clients

Paul Casey is the new chairman of the Mid-Columbia Tri-Cities chapter of SCORE, a national organization providing free business mentoring. Casey said the group has a renewed focus on recruiting more clients and volunteers.

through his email mentoring and mentor visits around the Northwest. His work received national attention.

Now Casey and his team want to shift their focus to strengthening local chapter 590 in the Tri-Cities.

“Eighteen months ago, I didn’t know what it was,” Casey said.

Casey attended a national SCORE leadership conference in August. He said it was like being “fed with firehose and it was, my goodness, everything you wanted to know about SCORE in three days. I developed childlike enthusiasm for it and want to make a difference here.”

So what does SCORE do?

“We help small businesses launch. We

help businesses who have already launched.

We help them grow,” Casey said.

The nonprofit SCORE is a nationwide program supported by the Small Business Association with a network of 10,000 volunteers providing business mentoring at no cost. It’s been around for more than 50 years.

The Tri-City chapter operates on a shoestring budget of $2,500.

Casey put together a small team of board members and held a mini retreat in September to strengthen the chapter by focusing on developing a strong team, marketing plan and partnerships. uSCORE, Page 34

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Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • February 2018

DATEBOOK

VISIT TCJOURNAL.BIZ AND CLICK ON EVENT CALENDAR FOR MORE EVENTS

FEB. 20

• Tri-Cities Hispanic Chamber Networking Luncheon: 11:30 a.m., Red Lion Hotel, 2525 N. 20th Ave., Pasco. RSVP: 509542-0933.

FEB. 21

• Trios Foundation Annual Breakfast: 7:30 a.m., Three Rivers Convention Center, 7016 W. Grandridge Blvd., Kennewick.

Register: 509-221-5776.

• PTAC Workshop “Marketing to the Federal Government:” 10 – 11:30 a.m., Tri-Cities Business & Visitor Center, 7130 W. Grandridge Blvd., Kennewick.

RSVP: 509-491-3231.

FEB. 22

• Dine Out for United Way: various Tri-City restaurants. Visit: unitedwaybfco.com/DineOut. • Renewable Energy on Your Farm: 5:30 p.m., Benton PUD, 250 N. Gap

Road, Prosser. RSVP: christinec@piercecd.org.

FEB. 23

• Building Hope Together workshop: 8 a.m. – 3:30 p.m., Kennewick School District Administration Center, 1000 W. Fourth Ave., Kennewick. Register: 253-229-7310.

FEB. 23 – 25

• Regional Home & Garden Show: 10 a.m., TRAC, 6600 Burden Blvd., Pasco. Visit: hbatc.com.

FEB. 24

• Discover the Reach: Washington’s Amazing Agriculture: 10 a.m. – 1 p.m., Reach museum, 1943 Columbia Park Trail, Richland.

Visit: visitthereach.org.

• Heart of the Arts, benefiting the Academy of Children’s Theatre: 6 – 9 p.m., Shilo Inn, 50 Comstock St., Richland. Tickets: 509943-6027.

• Three Rivers Craft Brew & Bacon Festival: 6 – 10 p.m., Three Rivers Convention Center, 7016 W. Grandridge Blvd., Kennewick. threeriversconventioncenter. com.

• Tri-City Americans Pink Ice Night, benefiting the Tri-Cities Cancer Center: 7:05 p.m., Toyota Center, 7000 W. Grandridge Blvd., Kennewick. Tickets: 509737-3413.

FEB. 26

• Kennewick Man & Woman of the Year: 6:15 p.m., Three Rivers Convention Center, 7016 W. Grandridge Blvd., Kennewick.

RSVP: 509-491-1291.

FEB. 28

• Tri-City Regional Chamber membership luncheon: 11:30 a.m., Three Rivers Convention Center, 7016 W. Grandridge Blvd., Kennewick. RSVP: 509-7360510.

• Washington Policy Center’s Legislative Lunchbox: Noon, Tri-Cities Home Builders Association, 10001 W. Clearwater Ave., Kennewick. RSVP: washingtonpolicy.org.

Visit: narfe1192.org.

• West Richland Chamber Membership Luncheon: Noon – 1 p.m., Sandberg Event Center, 331 S. 41st Ave., West Richland.

RSVP: 509-967-0521.

MARCH 1

MARCH 9 – 10

• Community Lecture Series “Reading Betty MacDonald in the Age of Memoir:” 7 p.m., East Benton County Historical Museum, 205 Keewaydin Drive, Kennewick.

MARCH 6

• Prosser Chamber Membership Luncheon: Noon – 1 p.m., Jeremy’s 1896 Public House, 1232 Wine Country Road, Prosser.

RSVP: 509-786-3177.

• Vintage at the Ridge: Southridge Sports & Events Complex, 2901 Southridge Blvd., Kennewick. Visit: vintageattheridge.com.

MARCH 10

• All You Need is Love, benefiting Mid-Columbia arts programs: 6 – 11 p.m., Three Rivers Convention Center, 7016 W. Grandridge Blvd., Kennewick. Tickets: biddingforgood.com.

MARCH 12

MARCH 7

• National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association meeting: 11:30 a.m., Red Lion Hotel, 1101 N. Center Blvd., Kennewick.

• Pasco Chamber Membership Luncheon: 11:45 a.m. – 1 p.m., Red Lion Hotel, 2525 N. 20th Ave., Pasco. RSVP: 509547-9755.

C Pri ash zes *

SCHOLARSHIP GOLF TOURNAMENT

Friday, April 27 / Canyon Lakes Fundraiser to provide college scholarships for students at local high schools.

4-person teams $500 / Solos $125 Includes green fee, cart, range balls, dinner, soft drinks, tee off goodies & more!

1 p.m.

Tee Time

Prizes for 1st & 2nd place teams Hole prizes / Raffle prizes

Columbia Center Heights Executive Suites offers secure, quality, high-profile professional office space • All inclusive executive office suites no overhead for your business

Tee & Green Sponsorships Available Mike Miller (509) 545-1881

*$5,000 hole in one sponsored by Culligan $200 KP cash prize on #7

Premier Sponsors

Major Sponsors

• Offering three virtual office packages to fit a variety of virtual needs • Seven conference rooms available to rent by the day/hour or for use by Columbia Center Heights tenants

(509) 222-2222 • www.cches.com 1030 N. Center Parkway • Kennewick

Evelyn Walkley

Moon Security

• Basin Pacific Insurance and Benefits • Cintas • Edward Jones Ryan Brault • G2 Construction • Perfection Glass • Northwest Farm Credit Services • Safeguard • Tri-Cities Realty Group • Tippett Company • Tri-CU Credit Union

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Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • February 2018

uBUSINESS BRIEFS Auditor’s office re-opens after week-long closure

Fire-related issues in the neighboring Richland Fred Meyer forced a week-long closure of the Benton County Auditor’s Office in Richland.

The office, at 101 Wellsian Way, Suite E, closed Jan. 29 due to poor air quality and potential smoke damage to furnishings, carpet and air ducts because of the store fire.

Richland firefighters and police responded to the Jan. 26 store fire reportedly set by a disgruntled customer.

Fred Meyer was able to re-open for business quickly.

The store recently completed a $12 million remodeling project.

Benton County contracted with Young’s ServiceMaster to clean the office and remove any remaining smoke smell, and worked with the Richland Fire Department to test for air quality.

The office re-opened Feb. 5.

Cancer center offers free cancer pre-screening

A free colorectoral cancer pre-screening event is from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.

March 24, by appointment only, at the Tri-Cities Cancer Center, 7350 W. Deschutes Ave., Kennewick.

The event consists of a health assessment to determine the appropriateness for a colonoscopy. Appropriate participants will be scheduled for their colonoscopy before leaving the event.

This free event is not a physical

examination or colonoscopy. It is an expedited pathway to getting a colonoscopy.

Colonoscopy appointments will take place two to four weeks from the event rather than the normal wait time of three to four months for scheduling.

Free colonoscopy prep and education will be provided to scheduled participants at the event and financial resources will be provided to those who meet the necessary criteria.

Colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer-related death among men and women in the United States.

The Tri-City region has a higher incidence of late stage colorectal cancer diagnosis than state and national averages.

Who should be screened? Men and women age 50-75 (ages 75 and up should

consult their doctor); those at high risk of colorectal cancer should begin screening at a younger age; and those who have not had a colonoscopy in the last 10 years Appointments are required, and can be made by visiting BeHealthyGetScreened. com to register online or call the TriCities Cancer Center at 509-737-3420.

The screening program is done in partnership with Kadlec, Lourdes Health and Trios Health.

Registration open for Tri-Tech preschool program

Tri-Tech Skills Center in Kennewick is accepting applications for 3- to 5-yearold children to join its part-time preschool program for the 2018-19 school year.

Applications will be accepted until all classes are filled on a first-come, firstserved basis. Applications can be filled out from 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. weekdays in Room 140 at Tri-Tech’s campus at 5929 W. Metaline Ave. Tri-Tech’s preschool offers two sessions, one from 8:10 to 10:10 a.m. and another from 11:40 a.m. to 1:40 p.m.

Tuesdays and Thursdays from October through May. It is open to any child who is age 3 by Aug. 31, 2018, and is toilettrained.

Supervised Tri-Tech students work with children enrolled in the preschool as part of their early education training.

Parents must pay a non-refundable $55 fee to reserve their child’s spot, and immunization records must be provided at registration. Monthly tuition is $80.

For more information, call 509-2227300.

Update set on underground storage tank regulations

The state Department of Ecology is proposing updates to its underground storage tank rule to streamline the requirements and align the rule with current state and federal laws.

Washington’s underground storage tank compliance program is one of the largest pollution prevention programs at Ecology.

Every year, more than 3 billion gallons of fuel are stored underground in our state.

If the tanks aren’t properly maintained, they can pollute drinking water and pose serious threats to human health and the environment. Currently, Ecology regulates more than 9,000 tanks at more than 3,300 facilities, including gas stations, industrial and commercial properties, and government-owned properties.

The purpose of the proposed rule is to incorporate federal rule changes needed to maintain federal approval of the program; integrate changes made in the state statute that authorizes the program; update other requirements governing the program (such as service provider requirements); and streamline rule requirements, improve rule clarity, and improve consistency within the rule and with other state and federal laws and rules.

Ecology is accepting public comment on the proposed changes through March 16.

To learn more about the proposed changes and submit comments online, visit http://cs.ecology.commentinput. com.

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • February 2018

9

New commercial kitchen to open in downtown Kennewick

Red Mountain Kitchen to offer space for food entrepreneurs to plan, prep, produce

BY JEFF MORROW

for Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business

The Bauer sisters remember years ago when they had piano recitals at the old Baldwin Music store in downtown Kennewick.

Now they’re trading music lessons for a different soul-satisfying love: food.

Alanna Bauer Lindblom and Courtney Bauer who – along with their mother, Chris Bauer – have a vision of turning the old music store into a food paradise.

The trio hope to open Red Mountain Kitchen by the middle of March.

The commercial kitchen aims to provide 5,000-square-feet of space to aspiring food entrepreneurs to plan, prep and produce their culinary creations.

Plans include a primary kitchen, a baking kitchen, prep kitchen space for multiple users and sanitizing/clean up space.

Monthly rental rates will be available for dry, refrigerated and freezer storage.

Also, a separate flex-space with a demo kitchen will be available to rent for cooking classes, pop-up restaurants, tastings, food and wine pairings, demos for video/live streaming, or food photography.

It’s a dream come true for the women, who have always loved cooking and baking.

“Mom forced us all to cook,” Courtney said. “We were chopping olives when we were 4. She would delegate things at dinner.”

“We all grew up cooking. It’s a skill,” added Alanna, who will be the kitchen’s operations manager.

The sisters said their younger sister, Maddie Bauer, is a pastry chef.

“She’s really who opened our eyes to culinary schools,” Courtney said. “We discussed opening a food truck pod somewhere in the Tri-Cities, like they have in Portland. But after talking to vendors, we realized what they actually needed was a kitchen.”

After looking at a number of existing buildings, the family decided on the old Music Machine store.

The store at 212 W. Kennewick Ave. specialized in music for almost 40 years.

But in October 2016, Music Machine went out of business.

The whole launching-a-new-business process, starting with the idea, has taken 18 months.

The family expects the bakery to be a big draw for respective clients and consumers.

The building also has two receiving docks.

“It’ll make it easier for food truck owners to come in and out,” Courtney said.

Courtney said there are 125 food trucks in the region, stretching from Prosser to Pasco.

“We don’t think the number is going go down. It’s going go up,” Courtney said.

The front part of the building’s east

side will be a flex area where pop-up restaurants can set up for a day, weekend or a little bit longer.

There is a capacity for 80 people in the flex area, Alanna said.

Cooking classes are another possibility.

“It’ll be like a palette,” Alanna said.

“We want people to dream and try it out here.”

Red Mountain Kitchen would be the area’s third largest commissary, a place every food vendor must have to do business.

The other two are the Pasco Specialty Kitchen and Anthology in Richland.

Marilou Shea, who ran the Pasco kitchen up until last year and is now an adjunct instructor in career and technical education at Columbia Basin College, hopes the Bauers can make a go of the kitchen.

“I see two things,” Shea said. “First, they’ll need to run the commissary kitchen like any small business. And second, I think that having an additional commissary in the Tri-Cities is overdue considering the growing culinary interest in our community. I’m excited for them.”

So is Luke Hallowell, executive director at the Downtown Pasco Development Authority, which oversees the Pasco Specialty Kitchen.

Courtney Bauer, left, and Alanna Bauer Lindblom stand inside their new business, Red Mountain Kitchen, that’s under construction at 212 W. Kennewick Ave. The sisters hope to open the commercial kitchen by the middle of March.

“We recognize that it will make us step up our game, and that we’ll likely collaborate and compete at the same time, similar to the way the Downtown Pasco Development Authority and Historic Downtown Kennewick Partnership collaborate and compete,” Hallowell said. “I do think there is room in the Tri-Cities for another commissary. A retail study I have from three to four years ago says we had a ‘sales leakage or opportunity gap’ of 34 percent for dining in Tri-Cities and a 42 percent in Pasco. So there’s still work to do in that area, and if another commissary helps fill that gap, I think that’s a really good thing for our community.”

Hallowell also mentioned a proposed

culinary school planned for Columbia Gardens Wine & Artisan Village on Columbia Drive in Kennewick. A funding source for the $10 million school hasn’t yet been identified.

“I think that will play an even bigger role on the supply side because I think that’s as critical to meeting that gap as another commissary kitchen is,” Hallowell said.

The Bauer sisters said Emily EstesCross, the economic development and tourism director for the city of Kennewick, squealed with delight when they told her what they wanted to do. uKITCHEN, Page 18

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Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • February 2018

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • February 2018

BANKING & FINANCE

11

Global Credit Union closes grocery-based branches in Pasco, Kennewick Yoke’s Fresh Market seeks to fill vacancy with another bank, credit union

BY ROBIN WOJTANIK

for Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business

Global Credit Union has closed its two Tri-City grocery store branches.

Officials shuttered locations inside the Pasco and Kennewick Yoke’s Fresh Market stores on Jan. 31.

Global Credit Union’s 1,600 Tri-City members may keep their accounts open and rely on mobile banking, online bill pay services and home banking in lieu of visiting a branch in person.

Mary Starkey, Global Credit Union executive vice president and chief operating officer, said the credit union hasn’t seen any significant growth since it arrived in the market 15 years ago. She said various strategies to stimulate growth haven’t panned out, which resulted in the closure of the branches.

“We have to look at our whole branch system: how does everything contribute to the overall credit union for the members?” she said.

Additionally, the credit union has

moved away from a business strategy which put banking services into grocery stores only. Today, 10 branches of the credit union remain, none inside grocery stores.

The closure of the Yoke’s-based branches in the Tri-Cities left nine employees out of work. The credit union employed three people full time and six part time. All nine employees were offered positions at branches outside the area, but no one accepted the option to transfer.

Starkey expressed gratitude that each Tri-City employee opted to work until the branches closed permanently.

Global Credit Union has five branches around Spokane, where it is headquartered, two in northern Idaho and three on military bases in Italy, serving 50,000 members in all.

“We’ve always tried to serve people from a long distance,” Starkey said.

The company has decreased its presence in western Europe over the years, and increased its presence in Eastern Washington, targeting mainly Spokane,

where it was founded.

The decision to shut down the Tri-City offices was made after the leases for the Kennewick and Pasco stores had already been renewed.

Global Credit Union will continue to make lease payments through the end of 2018, unless a sub-let is arranged for the remainder of the contract.

Yoke’s vice president of marketing, John Orton, said the store is interested in filling the spaces with another credit union or bank and hopes to offer banking services to grocery customers again in the future.

The Global Credit Chips block the entrance to a Global Credit Union Union branches opened branch inside Yoke’s Fresh Market. The credit union in the Tri-City Yoke’s closed its two Tri-City branches, located within the store, on Jan. 31. stores in 2003, and a home loan center opened on Kennewick Boulevard in 2006. Any closed at the end of 2017, when the lease loans in progress were transferred to the expired.

Spokane office when the home loan center uGLOBAL, Page 14

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Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • February 2018

Banking & Finance

State’s banking industry stable, improving in three key areas

BY ROBERTA HOLLINSHEAD

for Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business

Trends in the Washington state banking industry are generally positive coming into 2018.

The 44 state-chartered and three nationally-chartered banks headquartered in Washington are stable and the financial condition of these institutions has continued to improve.

To best summarize the condition of the state’s banking industry, I will focus on three C’s: consolidation, competition and, most importantly, community.

Consolidation

The most dramatic change in the industry as a whole continues to be the pace of consolidation. In Washington, there were 80 state-chartered banks at year-end in 2009, and this is down to 44 state-chartered banks today. From 2009-13, 18 banks failed and the rest of the decline in charters is a result of mergers.

There has been no de novo, or new, banking activity in the Northwest since Liberty Bay Bank in Poulsbo was chartered in July 2009.

On a national level, at year-end 2009, there were 8,012 federally-insured banking institutions and that number is down to 5,787 as of June 30, 2017, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, or FDIC. This is a dramatic 38 percent decline in the number of federally-insured banking institutions. The pace of new bank formation nationwide is well

below the pace of those institutions merging out.

The causes for continued consolidation have been largely market conditions and low investor Roberta returns. Banks Hollinshead derive profits by Department of the spread or marFinancial Institutions gin they earn between assets (primarily loans) and what they pay for their liabilities (primarily customer deposits).

Historically low interest rates over the past decade have compressed these margins. At the same time, there has been increased regulation on all banks, including community banks, as a result of the financial crisis. These regulations, combined with the soaring costs of technology and cybersecurity, have continued to hamper profitability and therefore investor returns. The pendulum does appear to be swinging back in some regards with pending federal legislation (S.2155 – Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act) to roll back regulations primarily for community banks.

Most banks also stand to benefit by the reduction in the corporate tax rate to 21 percent stemming from the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. Improved profits should drive investor interest in community banking, and potentially spur some new invest-

ments into community banking. As I always say, Washington is open for business!

The mission statement of the Department of Financial Institutions, or DFI, is to “regulate financial services to protect and educate the public and promote economic vitality.”

Despite the consolidation and reduction in the number of institutions, banking assets have continued to grow in Washington state. Combined state-chartered banks hold more than $57 billion in assets as of September 30, 2017, which represents a 7 percent annualized growth rate from the previous year. Loan growth is the primary driver averaging 11 percent, and exceeding the national loan growth rate of 6.5 percent, according to the FDIC. Ensuring consumers and businesses have access to credit is critical to DFI’s mission regarding economic vitality and the loan growth we are seeing in the industry is a very positive economic indicator. Community banks primarily focus on small business, commercial real estate and, especially in Eastern Washington, agricultural lending.

Competition

How consumers and businesses access banking services and credit is changing, and competition in the financial services industry is fierce. There has been a blurring of the lines between types of financial service providers: banks, credit unions, online lenders and fintech providers. The word “fintech” describes the whole array

of technologies, which are rapidly changing consumers’ expectations about how they interact with their financial institutions.

There is an ongoing debate on how community banks will compete with fintech companies. The reality is that fintech companies will continue to rely on and build partnerships with financial institutions that have relationships with customers and consumers. The community banking industry is well positioned to work with fintech companies to bring consumers and businesses the services they demand.

Community banks have built their business models on relationship-based banking, and as a result, will continue to be strong competitors to other types of financial institutions or service providers.

Community

The historic success of the community banking business model has been founded on supporting communities and building relationships. In my 16-plus-year tenure as a bank regulator, I have heard countless stories about how community banks have supported economic development and small business entrepreneurs in the markets in which they operate.

Community First Bank is the only state-chartered bank headquartered in the Tri-City region.

uBANKING INDUSTRY, Page 14

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • February 2018

Banking & Finance

13

Fuse offers collaborative space for angel investors, entrepreneurs to meet

BY JESSICA HOEFER

for Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business

It’s hard to start a business on optimism alone.

Brett Spooner, an attorney with Gravis Law PLLC in Richland, said what makes it even more difficult is that entrepreneurs are limited when it comes to soliciting the capital they need to get their businesses off the ground.

“The goal of the Security and Exchange Commission (S&E) is to protect people from getting tricked into buying bad stocks — into buying securities — without understanding the risks. So in order to sell to nonaccredited investors, you have to file documents with the S&E that, if someone is not accredited, you’ve given them all the information they need,” Spooner said. “It’s a really dangerous spot for early-stage companies to be in.

We’ve made it really hard for companies to raise capital.”

An accredited investor must have earned income that exceeded $200,000 (or $300,000 together with a spouse) in each of the prior two years, or have a net worth over $1 million — either alone or together with a spouse, according to the S&E Commission.

This excludes the value of the person’s primary home and any loans secured with the residence.

Spooner said often investors and entrepreneurs simply overlook each other.

More than a dozen people attended a four-week class last fall at Fuse SPC to turn their ideas into businesses. Fuse also hosts events where entrepreneurs can pitch ideas to potential investors. (Courtesy Fuse SPC)

“You’ll hear it many times, ‘There’s nothing to invest in the Tri-Cities,’ and then they’ll go to Seattle or somewhere else,” he said, adding that the same is true on the other side of the fence.

“You’ll hear, ‘No one’s investing.’ ” To enable the two sides to meet more frequently, Spooner helped found Fuse to grow and support small businesses, freelancers and cultivate a community of economic development from a grassroots level.

Fuse is a Richland-based co-working community.

“We’re trying to create ways for companies and investors to run into each other. (At Fuse) we’re providing education and opportunities for (startups) to pitch and launch ideas. And most of this opportunism comes through networking and matchmaking,” he said.

“It’s merely a presentation of the company, not a ‘Hey, give me $50,000.’

It’s ‘Hey, here’s our company. Here’s what we’re doing.’ And if an investor decides to talk to the company, now the investor has approached the company.”

In the case of emerging businesses,

Spooner said the owner might need a prototype to try to prove their business idea merits further investment — which can be expensive.

“That first $10,000, $50,000 or $100,000 can come from maxing out credit cards, borrowing from friends and family, or taking money out of savings. That initial money is typically from friends and family,” he said.

Angel investors are the next step and are sometimes referred to as seed investments. Statistically, Spooner said, angel investors provide $150,000 to $250,000 of capital funds, depending on the business.

“Typically angel investors are investing in equity,” Spooner said.

“Sometimes it’s under a convertible note. Often in this stage, maybe five angels put $25,000 in.”

Many angel investors have a budget and a process for investing, he said.

Spooner said he invests in five to 10 businesses a year. One local business he’s involved with is Humming Hemp, a food company founded in spring 2017 that creates hemp foods packed full of protein and omega.

The company’s products are hitting retail shelves in Safeway and Albertsons stores across the state, but not every investment story has a happy ending.

Angel investments are often highrisk, and Spooner said statistically one or two of every 10 businesses will make money. uINVESTORS, Page 14

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Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • February 2018

GLOBAL, From page 11 Starkey said Global Credit Union made its entrance into the Tri-Cities knowing longtime and well-established credit unions like Gesa and HAPO were already dominating the market.

Global Credit Union considered opening a standalone branch in Richland at one point, but a consultant who assessed the potential for success found it would take seven to eight years to make an impact. Since the credit union is responsible for making investment decisions benefiting all of its members, the lengthy delay for potential success meant the expansion wasn’t pursued.

Global Credit Union’s original expansion into the Tri-Cities came as a

result of a 2002 statewide community charter that allowed it to serve anyone who lives or works in Washington state.

But the branches never expanded beyond those original locations, which offered drive-through services.

Global Credit Union’s branching strategy resulted in its first grocery store location, at a Spokane Tidyman’s supermarket in 1986. This was considered a first of its kind concept for the West Coast.

Starkey said she hopes Global Credit Union’s Tri-Cities members will continue to bank with the credit union despite the closures.

“We may not be here for you to walk into a branch, but we are still here for you,” she said.

Banking & Finance INVESTORS, From page 13 “In the angel investor round, one of the hardest things you can do is value the company because you don’t have revenue. Usually the value is based on a revenue model. If a company isn’t making money or doesn’t have assets, it’s really hard to value. So what angel investors are looking at are formulas to understand a potential value,” he said, although that doesn’t prohibit investors from taking risks. “There’s tax strategies involved. A lot of investors like to do enough deals each year so their early losses offset the other investment gains.”

And while there’s no revenue stream to examine with startups, Spooner said there are several areas of interest to look at for a potential investor. For

instance, they’ll want to learn more about people on the business team, examine prototype and consider the market potential, he said.

“There’s a big difference if you’re selling a product to the whole world or an auto repair shop,” Spooner said, who suggests startup owners attend events where they can network and strengthen their business plan.

A lot of angel investors are comfortable with real estate projects, agriculture and areas that are easily understood, with assets that can be collateralized against any losses.

However, these days Spooner has seen an interest grow in innovative science, software technology, renewable energy, artificial intelligence and applications that integrate smart homes and machine learning.

“I invest in a lot of tech,” Spooner said. “I’m always looking for the next great software companies.”

Fuse runs anywhere from five to 30 events a month toward entrepreneurship, and Spooner encourages startup owners and potential investors to stop by the new office at 723 The Parkway in Richland or online at fusespc.com to learn more.

Read more about Fuse on page 54.

BANKING INDUSTRY, From page 12 However eight state-chartered community banks have continued to expand and today operate numerous branches in this market.

While each state-chartered bank contributes in a meaningful way to the economic vitality of the region, I recently heard a great example of a local bank supporting the Tri-City community. Eric Pearson, chief executive officer of Community First Bank, explained how the bank and its Board of Directors are actively involved in helping with the financing of the new Boys & Girls Clubs of Benton and Franklin Counties’ Kennewick clubhouse.

He explained that this project has been in the making for some time and has tremendous community support.

The members of the bank’s board, who are all local, personally contributed a combined $500,000 to the capital campaign. In addition, the bank is providing the construction financing to get the project off the ground, while the club is collecting the pledges from the community.

This is the heart of community banking. Not all financial institutions would be willing or able to finance a community project and contribute in such a meaningful way.

Regardless of the consolidation or fierce competition, the focus on building relationships and supporting communities has not changed and continues to be the reason why community banks are critical to the economic vitality of the state.

Roberta Hollinshead is the director of banks for the state Department of Financial Institutions.

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • February 2018

Banking & Finance

15

Consider alternative to adding children to your bank account

BY BEAU RUFF

for Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business

You’ve likely heard the conventional wisdom many times. Your friends or family, or even at times the bank teller, will counsel you that you should add your child to your bank account.

Perhaps it’s a checking account or a savings account, or both. The advice goes something like this: “If you want your children to have access to your money to be able to pay your bills should something happen to you, then you need to add them to your account.”

The theory also espouses that without an added name on the account, the account might “freeze” upon your death and no one would be able to access it until a lengthy probate process has concluded. Accordingly, many of us choose to put a child’s name on the account. And, we choose the most responsible child to handle this duty.

This plan is fraught with potential problems. The good news is that a better solution exists.

But first what are the problems with adding a child to your account?

The last will and testament doesn’t apply to the bank account.

Every bank account (well, let’s say 99 percent of them) are opened with a joint owner as “joint tenancy with right of survivorship.” This means that if one person dies (say, the parent) then the joint owner (say, the child) becomes the sole owner of the assets in the

account. This also means that the parent’s last will and testament doesn’t usually work to direct where that money goes. Instead, the entirety of the account legally goes to the joint owner.

Splitting the account among multiple heirs is complicated.

Let’s assume the money in the joint account is ultimately supposed to be split among several beneficiaries. Let’s further assume the responsible child really will split the money among his or her siblings (and not refuse to split and keep all the money). The potential problem is that the joint tenant child is legally entitled to the funds. So, when that child tries to split the money and transfer to the siblings, there is the potential that it would be a gift subject to the requirement to file a gift tax return.

You might expose your assets to additional creditors.

The joint ownership structure also can expose the parent’s assets to creditor claims. Imagine that the child named on the bank account causes a car accident and is later sued. The child is technically an owner on the account.

And, the bank account for which the child is an owner might be used to satisfy the creditor’s claim. Bottom line is that the child could subject the parent’s funds to a claim from a third-party creditor.

Estate tax reporting is more complicated.

From an estate tax perspective, the

Internal Revenue Code places an additional burden on accounts held as joint tenants with right of survivorship.

That is, the first person to die Beau Ruff (let’s assume the Cornerstone child unexpectWealth Strategies edly dies first) has to claim all assets held in the account as his or her assets and subject to the potential estate tax, except to the extent that the child’s estate can prove that it wasn’t his or her money. (IRC 2040) This law places the burden on the estate to prove the asset was not owned by, in this case, the child.

The likely solution.

So, we have a litany of problems that can arise in the areas of gift tax, estate tax, and exposing assets to thirdparty creditors. Is there a better way?

The power of attorney is the answer.

A power of attorney is a legal document that allows the “agent” (in this case, the child) to act on behalf of the “principal” (in this case, the parent). It provides authorization without implied ownership. The distinction between authorization and ownership is important. The parent’s likely goal is to provide simple authorization (and not ownership) in most cases. A power of attorney can be made effective immedi-

ately upon signing to allow the child immediate access to the account for bill-paying. It can apply not only to bank accounts but to all assets.

Alternatively, it can also be limited to just apply to specific assets like bank accounts. Either way, the parent gets to choose the type and extent of the authorization.

Two final notes.

The smaller amount held in any joint tenancy with right of survivorship account, the smaller the potential problems. If a parent has a single child that is supposed to inherit the parent’s estate and there is $1,000 in the account, then in such a situation, the child’s name on the account is not likely to cause any significant harm.

The power of attorney cannot keep the bank account from “freezing” upon the parent’s death. But, this is just not as big of a problem as it seems. If the estate is subject to a probate, you can typically unfreeze the account in a matter of days (if you are in hurry) or weeks (in the normal course of events).

Attorney Beau Ruff works for Cornerstone Wealth Strategies, a fullservice independent investment management and financial planning firm in Kennewick, where he focuses on assisting clients with comprehensive planning.

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Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • February 2018

Banking & Finance

Washington leads way to standardize licensing practices for ‘fintech’ companies

BY TRI-CITIES AREA JOURNAL OF BUSINESS STAFF

Washington and six other states have launched a new national approach to licensing money service businesses.

These businesses, known as “fintech” companies, include money transmitters, payment service providers and currency exchangers.

Fintech refers to new technology used to support or enable banking and financial services.

Generally, money service businesses have to apply for a license in each state in which they want to offer services.

As technology in the financial services area has advanced, state regulators have

heard complaints from innovative startups providing money services about the difficulties of varying licensing requirements in multiple states and challenges of having their full application reviewed separately by each individual state before they can offer their services nationwide, according to state Department of Financial Institutions, or DFI. Recognizing this problem, last year the Conference of State Bank Supervisors, or CSBS, of which the Washington DFI is a member, began a campaign to transform the licensing process, harmonize supervision and engage these so-called “fintech” companies.

In September 2017, the DFI approached a handful of states around the country to

enter into the agreement to streamline the licensing process.

The multi-state agreement includes Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, Massachusetts, Tennessee and Texas.

The agreement will create efficiencies in the multi-state licensing process by allowing participating states to rely on each other’s work during the license application review process. It also divides the multistate licensing process into two phases.

The first phase allows states to rely on each other’s work regarding licensing requirements that are common across state lines, leaving the few remaining state-specific licensing requirements to an expedited second phase that will be performed by each participating state.

“When the Washington DFI initially proposed this concept, we found that the current participating states expressed real interest,” said Charlie Clark, DFI’s deputy director, in a release. “We worked hard to get consensus among that initial group of states in order to get the project off the ground, but the participating states are still encouraging other states to join the agreement.”

Under the agreement, DFI will still require that money service businesses satisfy state licensing standards.

“While we are streamlining the licensing process, there are no shortcuts in consumer protections or ensuring a company’s fitness to provide financial services,” said DFI’s Director Gloria Papiez. “This agreement will create a multi-state licensing process that supports innovative companies and helps them get off the ground, which is good for those businesses and good for Washington State.”

The licensing process is voluntary for states and applicants. Participating states likely will undertake a pilot licensing project around April of this year. After making adjustments based on the pilot project, states will offer multi-state licensing under the agreement more broadly to new applicants.

“This (money service business) licensing agreement will minimize the burden of regulatory licensing, use state resources more efficiently, and allow for broad participation by other states across the country,” said John Ryan, CSBS president and chief executive officer.

uBUSINESS BRIEF Tickets, luminaries on sale for Pink Ice Night

The 13th annual Breast Cancer Awareness Night with the Tri-City Americans — known as Pink Ice Night — is Feb. 24.

The rink will be painted pink and money raised will benefit the Tri-Cities Cancer Center Foundation.

Player-worn pink game jerseys will be auctioned off at the game and online, commemorative T-shirts will be available with a donation, silent auction items will be available on the concourse, as well as giveaways to the first 1,000 people through the doors.

Discounted tickets are available in the Tri-Cities Cancer Center Foundation office for $12. Call 509-737-3413 to get tickets.

Warrior Sisterhood, a program of the Tri-Cities Cancer Center whose goal is to empower local women with cancer or a cancer-related diagnosis and survivors, is selling luminary bags for the event prior to Feb. 24.

Prior to the puck drop, the rink will be glowing with decorated bags honoring and remembering those who faced down cancer.

Buy a bag at the cancer center’s foundation office or contact Warrior Sisterhood on Facebook. Cost is $5 a bag and all proceeds benefit Warrior Sisterhood.

Bags must be bought before Feb. 23.

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • February 2018

BANKING & FINANCE

17

Trusted bankers can be key resource for farmers in times of change

BY BEN COX

for Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business

Being a farmer means being ready for anything.

Whether managing through unreliable weather, planning against volatile crop prices or adapting to changing consumer preferences, the life of a farmer is anything but predictable.

Today, the agricultural industry must also contend with new technologies that change how farmers operate, as well as increasing pressure from consumers about how their food is grown.

What’s the trick to keeping up? One of the most important moves a farmer can make to prepare for and manage uncertainty and change is to cultivate a long-term relationship with a trusted banker. A knowledgeable advisor can help farmers evaluate the big picture, weigh the pros and cons of various options when making business decisions, and help take advantage of market opportunities – all of which are vital in navigating the cyclical nature of the industry and planning for the future.

Beyond loans and standard business banking services, today’s banks offer access to a wealth of resources. A trusted banker can assist farmers with a range of business issues – for example, by drawing on their contact networks to identify potential partners with specialized expertise, or by providing feedback on business plans based on broader

insights into the market and peer businesses.

Whether you’re an established Columbia Basin farm evaluating your management style, a young farmer working to secure a line of credit, or a family farmer preparing to transition from one generation to the next, establishing a trusted banking relationship can help ensure you’re prepared for this season and the next.

Managing to a budget

Given the crop-driven nature of farming, agricultural income is often not spread evenly throughout the year, which can make cash-flow management a challenge. Given today’s low commodity prices, it becomes even more important for farmers to carefully set a budget and monitor progress regularly.

A banker who specializes in agriculture should understand how farmers set budgets and how the various expense categories can shift from one year to the next.

If needed, he or she can then help you establish a line of credit that manages the budget, ensuring that you are protected during cash-flow shortages, and well positioned for the seasons to come. Also, when times are hard and profits are lower than anticipated, a banker can help farmers honestly assess their expenses and understand whether they were necessary under the circumstances and if they contributed to the

Please recycle the Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business when you are done reading it, or pass it on to a coworker.

bottom line (or will do so in the future).

Capital planning

An agricultural banker also can ensure that farmers have quick access to capital when it’s needed, whether for keeping up the equipment fleet or for buying or leasing additional land.

Good opportunities can come during bad economic times, and access to capital will allow farmers to seize those opportunities and provide an appropriate finance structure for long-term investment. For example, if a neighbor’s property suddenly becomes available, your banker can help you evaluate the situation and determine whether it makes sense to purchase or lease the land despite the current low crop prices.

Planning for retirement

Retirement – whether or not a generational transition is involved – is another issue farmers should discuss with their banker. Most farmers rely on their land for retirement security, so it’s important to evaluate all your assets and make sure that you’re not left in a position where you aren’t able to cover your living expenses if markets take a downturn.

Likewise, early planning, including a thorough assessment of the tax implications of any potential land sales, can help put farmers on a stronger financial footing now and when they’re ready to retire.

In challenging times like the present, where commodity prices remain low, working with an advisor who understands the agriculture industry is more important than Ben Cox ever.

Washington Developing a Trust Bank long-term relationship with a trusted agricultural banker and communicating regularly about your situation will allow them to gain a true understanding of your particular business – and thus provide more effective guidance and create solutions that are tailored to your specific needs. This relationship can be a valuable resource as farmers deal with the changes that the future will inevitably bring.

Ben Cox is an agriculture relationship manager and vice president at Washington Trust Bank in Kennewick.

He has more than 10 years of experience in the commercial lending industry. He graduated from Washington State University with a degree in agribusiness. He manages a small farm and is passionate about educating the community about farming and where food comes from.

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Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • February 2018

TRIOS, From page 3

Outpatient therapy, staff cuts

More program and staff cuts have come as Trios works to fix its financial crisis.

Trios will eliminate some outpatient therapy services later this month.

The department lost $450,000 annually, or “pennies on the dollar” from lower reimbursements from Medicare and Medicaid, Cudworth said in a January news release.

Trios faces a three-month gap between when patients receive service and when the hospital system gets paid.

The amount lost because of delayed reimbursement for services totaled $11 million over five years, with $4 million in losses predicted for this fiscal year.

“The challenge has been — and continues to be — that the (outpatient therapy service’s) revenues, which include reimbursements from insurances, do not cover the cost of delivering the services. And, they haven’t for years,” Cudworth said in a release. “Despite our best efforts to find ways to cover the losses and preserve these outpatient services, we have arrived at a point that we must make a difficult change or suffer further consequences to Trios Health at a time when we cannot afford to lose ground.”

Trios will discontinue physical, occupational and speech-language therapy services on Feb. 28.

Outpatient cardiac and pulmonary rehabilitation services will continue. All inpatient therapy services will not change.

Therapy services department staff were notified Jan. 25. The elimination of some

of the department’s programs will affect eight employees.

“Four of them are eligible for other positions within Trios and we hope to retain them. The other four we are working with to find other opportunities with other local organizations,” said Lisa Teske, Trios Health’s director of marketing and development.

Trios mailed letters to patients about the change at the end of January.

In January, Trios laid off nine employees.

The layoffs were initially expected to total 20 people and save $4 million.

They came on the heels of 23 layoffs and reduced work schedules announced last spring that totaled about 95 full-time equivalent positions.

Quorum issued a 400-page report last year recommending the elimination of 115 full-time equivalent positions, among other measures.

Declining patient volume also has been affecting Trios, coming in the wake of last year’s announcements about Trios’ financial crisis and a massive medical records data breach by a former employee.

As the hospital district winds its way through bankruptcy court, the sale of the health district is on hold.

Trios is exploring a relationship with RCCH HealthCare Partners, a Tennesseebased health care system, and UW Medicine.

Despite all the challenges, Trios remains committed to serving the community, Kinney said.

“We’re still concentrating on quality.

That’s our No. 1 goal,” he said.

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KITCHEN, From page 9 “She’s been a key to us this entire project,” Alanna said.

Estes-Cross said she is very excited about the business.

“It does a few different things,” she said. “First, it brings a previously vacant building into production in a revitalization area. Second, it’s a need in the market place.”

Estes-Cross said she had just returned from an event where she ran into a couple of food vendors who told her they needed a kitchen in Kennewick. Right after that, she got the call from the Bauers.

“This is economic development in its purest form,” she said.

Estes-Cross said the city has conducted surveys the last few years, asking what people would like to see in downtown Kennewick.

“Restaurants and eateries were the No. 1 answer each time,” she said. “But a

uBUSINESS BRIEF Healthplanfinder records 242,000 sign-ups

The Washington Health Benefit Exchange announced that more than 242,000 customers signed up for Qualified Health Plans, or QHPs, through Washington Healthplanfinder by the close of open enrollment on Jan. 15, an 8 percent increase over the previous year.

And more than 66,000 residents signed up for dental coverage in its second year as a product offered through Washington Healthplanfinder, a 12 percent increase

bakery was also high on the list.”

The sisters see their new place as a gathering place for the community.

“We’re excited about making connections in the community,” Courtney said.

But they also know they have to create a business model that works.

“We want to have at least 10 vendors for the first year, and that may not even be aggressive enough,” Courtney said. “One of the things we’ll measure our success by is when a client gets too big and goes out on their own.”

But it’s the goal of bringing people together through food that really seems to be driving them.

“We’re excited about the restaurant scene in the Tri-Cities,” Courtney said.

“And we want to help foster that creativity. We want to be here for the community.”

Red Mountain Kitchen: 509-430-1438; Facebook; redmountainwa@gmail.com. from the previous year.

The 12-week open enrollment period, shortened from 14 weeks last year, also saw higher website engagement with more than 1.2 million unique visitors, or an increase of more than 16,000 when compared to open enrollment for 2017 coverage.

Washington Healthplanfinder is an online marketplace for individuals and families in Washington to compare and enroll in health insurance coverage and gain access to tax credits, reduced cost sharing and public programs such as Medicaid. The next open enrollment period begins Nov. 1.

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • February 2018

19

Legislators reach compromise on controversial water rights bill Hirst decision agreement gets several construction projects back on track

BY JOHN STANG

for Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business

A number of stalled Mid-Columbia construction projects are now shifting into gear since the Washington Legislature reached a compromise on a controversial water rights bill.

The irony is despite the rural nature of the well-digging conflict, the compromise does not really affect Benton, Franklin and Walla Walla counties other than getting numerous construction projects back on track.

This so-called Hirst controversy deadlocked the Legislature in 2017. The state Supreme Court’s ruling in 2016 blocked landowners from digging new wells without proving they wouldn’t threaten nearby stream levels needed for fish, essentially halting construction of homes and businesses in many rural areas.

The Building Industry Association of Washington commissioned a report to analyze the effect of the Hirst decision and said an estimated $6.9 million would be lost in economic activity each year.

In 2017, Democrats in charge of the House and Republicans in control of the Senate could not agree on any proposal to loosen up the restrictions. The Senate Republicans refused to pass the state’s $4.3 billion capital last year unless a compromise was reached on the Hirst fix-it bill. That stalled the capital budget that would have provided state money for many Tri-City area projects.

In mid-January, the two sides reached a compromise.

The agreement addresses 15 specific watersheds — essentially rivers and their tributaries. Each watershed would have a committee of stakeholders — ranging from tribes to developers to local governments—look at the well digging-permit applications for each watershed. The Washington Department of Ecology would be in charge of the 15 committees.

Also, the new law has the Legislature appropriating $300 million over the next 15 years to tackle environmental mitigation measures needed to deal with the digging of the new wells.

The 15 watersheds do not include the Lower Yakima River and Walla Walla River watersheds, or the Odessa Aquifer, which supplies most of the water to Franklin County. The Odessa Aquifer is separate from streams that have salmon runs and its levels do not affect the fish, said Franklin County Planner Loren Wiltse.

“We were in kind of a holding pattern (awaiting the Hirst compromise),” said Jerrod MacPherson, Benton County planning manager.

But the county did not receive any welldigging applications during the legislative impasse.

Though the Lower Yakima is not one of the target watersheds, the state Department of Ecology might upgrade the well-digging regulations for this area at a later date.

The Walla Walla River watershed went

to advanced fish-related water conservations standards in 2009, meaning it is already in compliance with the new law, said Chris Hyland, executive director of the Walla Walla Watershed Management Partnership.

“We’re kind of ahead of the curve,” he said.

The Senate and House overwhelmingly passed the compromise bill, with some liberal Democrats and conservative Republicans opposing it. The two chambers almost unanimously approved the capital budget. All Mid-Columbia legislators voted in favor of the two bills.

“The compromise on Hirst is a fragile agreement. Like most political compromises, our solution to the rural water crisis is Sen. Maureen imperfect as it Walsh places unnecessary restrictions and costs on rural property owners. But after months of negotiations, it is the best deal we are likely to strike this year, and we need to act quickly. For thousands of

rural property owners, no legislation would mean no water,” said Sen. Maureen Walsh, R-Walla Walla.

“Meanwhile, passage of the capital budget is crucial to communities across the state, including southeast Washington.

The fact we were finally able to resolve these issues during the second week of our legislative session should come as a relief to rural property owners, to anyone with a public works project at stake,” she said.

Sen. Judy Warnick, R-Moses Lake, was the GOP leader on the Hirst negotiations. “It has taken us this long to get here because many in Olympia didn’t take the plight of rural Washington seriously. We did what we had to do to represent our constituents and get the attention Sen. Judy Warnick of urban lawmakers who don’t need to worry about where their water comes from,” Warnick said.

Sen. John McCoy, D-Tulalip, is the only Native American legislator in Olympia. He voted against the Hirst compromise, saying it violated treaty rights preserving water for salmon runs.

For the Mid-Columbia, the capital budget included money for Tri-County Habitat for Humanity to build new homes in

the Whitehouse Addition in Pasco. It will help restore the Naval Air Station Pasco control tower for use as a future aviation museum and with the rehabilitation of the Princess Theater Sen. John McCoy in Prosser.

Work also can begin on upgrading the intersection of Highway 395 and Ridgeline Drive serving south Kennewick, on water supply projects in the Yakima and Columbia river basins, on design work for a 40,000-square-foot center for an Army infantry Stryker company in the Horn Rapids area, and for improvements at Richland’s Jefferson Elementary School.

Other local projects include building labs, classrooms and offices in the middle of the Washington State University TriCities campus, a 9,000-square-foot new building to hold classrooms, exhibits and offices for student outreach at the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory, or LIGO, doing upgrades to the city of Kennewick’s water-meterreading system from using workers walking from home to home to instead transmitting all the information electronically, and building a new North Franklin School District bus center.

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Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • February 2018

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • February 2018

21

Richland company opens new fabrication shop to meet local demand FCCI working to fabricate pipeline for Hanford tank farm project

BY LAURA KOSTAD

for Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business

The welding torches are ablaze in a Richland company’s new fabrication shop where highly-skilled welders are making pipeline components for the water and chemical distribution system for the Hanford tank farm.

Fluid Controls and Components Inc., or FCCI, specializes in nuclear-certified piping materials, valves, instrumentation, machined components, fasteners and engineering services.

The company provides engineered solutions, fabricates client designs and offers quality assurance services.

FCCI completed construction of a new 8,000-square-foot fabrication shop, located directly behind its headquarters at 3095 Kingsgate Way in Richland, last September.

It has plans to expand into the food processing and agricultural sectors this year.

FCCI’s welders are certified in a number of welding processes and for a range of materials, such as stainless steel, carbon steel and various alloys.

“The quality of our fabrication is unmatched,” said John Watson, vice president of FCCI. “We get a lot of business because of that quality. … Big companies come back time and time again because they trust us,” said co-owner Russ Watson, who runs the company with his wife, Bonnie.

As a result, and also because FCCI is one of a handful of local companies that can provide commercial-grade work in accordance with the American Society of Mechanical Engineers’ Nuclear Quality Assurance-1, or NQA-1, standards, FCCI has become an integral partner with several major Department of Energy contrac-

tors at the Hanford site, such as Bechtel National, CH2M and Washington River Protection Solutions.

“We utilize FCCI for a lot of our fabrications,” said Dan Hall, a corporate spokesperson for American Electric Inc., or AEI, a Richland-based electrical contractor acting as a general contractor at the Hanford tank farm.

AEI commissioned FCCI to build the pipeline for the tank farm.

In 2009, Hall worked cooperatively with FCCI on a Department of Defense project in which FCCI provided equipment and materials. Hall said he’s returned to FCCI for both DOE projects and those in the civilian sector.

“They’re an NQA-1 supplier of equipment, so they are great to work with because they have all the paperwork to meet government requirements.

“There’s no question when you have them supply material or do work, because they’ve already reached that high expectation; it’s a good pedigree to have. Not a lot of suppliers or fabricators around have that, and they do,” Hall said.

NQA-1 testing and certification entails a battery of physical tests to determine if a part or product is nuclear grade and fit for its intended use. Tests include chemical analysis, hardness, ultrasonic, pressure and X-raying to ensure a flawless product.

Parts must pass all of these critical tests to be cleared for use.

In addition to the chemical and water distribution pipeline, FCCI has fabricated work platforms and steel burial boxes for material pulled out of the tanks under AEI’s contracts.

FCCI’s team of 15 employees has tackled numerous projects nationwide, primarily DOD and DOE projects, involving

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Fluid Controls and Components Inc. recently completed construction of a new 8,000-square-foot fabrication shop, located behind its headquarters at 3095 Kingsgate Way in Richland. The 15-year-old company is making pipeline components for the water and chemical distribution system at the Hanford tank farm and has plans to expand into the food processing and agricultural sectors.

chemical warfare and nuclear demilitarization programs, which involve the destruction of old chemical warfare agents.

The company also has contributed to the Oak Ridge, Tennessee’s Savannah River site, Pueblo and Blue Grass agentdestruction pilot plants, and Iraq reconstruction projects.

One of the FCCI’s most recent projects involved the fabrication of a telescopic lifting rig for a nuclear plant in Louisiana. The equipment was designed to lift out the vessel dome covering the reactor core.

“No one else in the country would build

it; it was very complex,” John Watson said.

Other notable projects include its involvement with the DOD’s groundbased mid-course defense program in Alaska, as well as the manufacture of fabricated components for a Tri-City research facility that processes the radioactive isotope, tritium.

“We recognize that we’re on the back end of the Manhattan Project, and we’re proud to be a part of that societal contribution,” Russ Watson said. “It’s got to get cleaned up.” uFCCI, Page 22

22

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • February 2018

FCCI, From page 21 FCCI’s contributions to the ongoing Hanford site remediation haven’t gone unnoticed either.

In 2014 and 2016, FCCI received Bechtel’s Small Business Supplier Award out of more than 30 nominees selected from more than 2,000 Bechtel contractors. John Watson and FCCI’s office manager, Adrianne Hall, traveled to Washington, D.C., to accept the awards.

“Over the years, we’ve developed strategies and skills to handle each project,” Russ Watson said. “If we weren’t capable, we wouldn’t be here.”

He said FCCI’s success has been thanks to his team’s “fanatical attention to details.”

“Our most important asset is of course

our customer base, but also our employees. Without their commitment and dedication, we wouldn’t have the customers.

Our employees are held in the highest regard,” Russ Watson said.

FCCI has been in the Tri-Cities since 2011, but began in 2003 in Tacoma on the mezzanine floor of a former 1948 Buick dealership.

Russ Watson had been involved in the petrochemical business since the early 1970s and remained in heavy industry and oil until 2003, when he resigned and founded FCCI with his wife.

“Our first purchase order was for $900,” Russ Watson said. “We made a profit of $90, and the order was written out all by hand — we had no (computers) in yet. That Buick dealership took us to where we are today — through

perseverance.”

The small, woman-owned business holds a Historically Underutilized Business Zone designation. Known as a HUBZone, this U.S. Small Business Administration program helps small businesses in urban and rural areas gain preferential access to federal procurement opportunities.

FCCI opened its fabrication division two years ago, and operated out of a space at the Big Pasco Industrial Center until construction of its new shop was complete.

In 2017, FCCI lost one of its founding employees, who was later an owner, Randy Peterson, before the new shop was completed.

“Randy was a pillar in this company and a tremendous individual,” Russ

Watson said. “He was enormously respected in the industry, and we experienced a great loss when he passed. He possessed qualities that were extremely rare.”

As FCCI looks forward, diversification is a focus. John Watson said a major component of FCCI’s business plan includes a focus on working with clients in the food processing and agricultural sectors due to FCCI’s familiarity with stainless steel components.

A recent partnership with a local distillery represents FCCI’s first non-government project in Eastern Washington.

“We’re confident in our ability because of our collective industry experience,” John Watson said.

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • February 2018 ROUNDABOUT, From page 1 The two roundabouts will be built in tandem, but they will not be the same “teardrop” style found in Kennewick where a double roundabout controls the flow of traffic between highways 395 and 240 and Columbia Drive.

There will be a straightaway between the two traffic circles for a more traditional use compared to Kennewick’s complex setup.

The project also will widen Queensgate Drive to four lanes between Keene and the freeway, with two lanes in each direction and a curbed center turn median.

The southernmost roundabout on Queensgate will extend Columbia Park Trail to the west, connecting it with Jericho Court, north of Tri-Cities Battery and Auto Repair. There is currently no intersection at this section of Queensgate, and the road sees frequent backups in the morning and evening rush as traffic bottlenecks along Queensgate.

Businesses along route

The city has a number of outreach efforts underway to communicate and prepare residents and business owners who will be affected by the construction, including going door-to-door to talk to them about the final project design.

The city will maintain driveways for businesses along Queensgate so customers may still reach their destination.

Angela Kora, owner of Ethos Bakery, is optimistic the addition of a dedicated right turn lane for traffic headed north on Queensgate from westbound Keene Road will eliminate the bottlenecks in front of her shop.

She sees two separate times in the morning when the backups are the worst, usually between 7 a.m. and 8:30 a.m.

Kora said she’s noticed that’s about the same time her restaurant gets quiet.

“By the time they get to this corner, they just need to go,” and they don’t pull in for a coffee or pastries.

Ethos is in a strip mall facing Keene Road and can only be accessed by drivers headed westbound on Keene, or through a rear parking lot entrance off Queensgate.

A frequent complaint from customers was “you’re hard to get to,” when Ethos first moved to south Richland a little more than a year ago.

Kora also sees drivers cutting through her parking lot to avoid the signal at Keene and Queensgate.

West said the road improvement project will provide increased access to the building where Ethos is located. Right now, drivers can only access the businesses while driving westbound on Keene, but drivers soon will be able to pull into, and exit, the parking lot from either direction of Keene.

Expect delays

During the construction process, drivers can expect lane closures and detours while the four-month project is completed.

The largest impact will be for those looking to enter the Queensgate shopping center from Keene, since traffic will be prevented from going completely north on Queensgate.

Vehicles will be detoured further west

23

A Richland map shows the locations of two roundabouts on Queensgate Drive at Columbia Park Trail and the Interstate 182 ramps. The four-month construction project kicks off in March. (Courtesy city of Richland)

from Keene to Duportail Road near the Maverik gas station. Freeway ramps will remain open, but drivers should still expect frequent lane closures and slowdowns during daytime hours. There may be nighttime work that closes the corridor completely at times between 8 p.m. and 5 a.m.

Drivers who typically use these intersections and access points should expect delays throughout the spring and early summer as work is completed.

Five years in the making

The road project has been more than five years in the making, with the heaviest planning and analysis coming in the last three years.

There had been consideration at the start of the planning process to replace the traffic signal at Keene and Queensgate and install a traffic circle instead.

The process included a public survey and several open houses seeking feedback.

“Through public input and traffic analysis, it was decided it will remain a signalized intersection,” West said.

The northernmost roundabout will replace the current traffic signal at the southbound end of the bridge over I-182 which controls drivers headed on and off eastbound I-182, and north and south Queensgate Drive.

Engineers can’t promise fewer accidents when a traffic circle replaces a signalized intersection, but they do expect the severity of accidents to decrease since it prevents the “T-bone” crashes more likely to occur at a traditional intersection where vehicles are stopped four ways.

The city of Richland is working with the state Department of Transportation, or WSDOT, on the project.

The roundabout planned for Columbia Park Trail is a city project, and the roundabout at the freeway is a WSDOT project, though both will be managed by Richland.

“The goal is to appear like a seamless project, even if there’s two contractors,” West said.

The contract bidding process is already underway for the WSDOT roundabout, and the city’s roundabout will go to bid in late February.

It’s a low bid process and groundbreaking is expected four to six weeks after the lowest bid is accepted.

Richland is funding its $1.7 million construction costs with federal dollars and rural grant funds, which includes the roundabout and the lane addition at Keene and Queensgate.

There are some city matching dollars being contributed, but the bulk of the cost will be covered by the federal money

and grants.

The construction cost of the WSDOT roundabout is expected to be $2.2 million.

“The two projects have been coordinated in design and plan,” West said.

Bike lanes, sidewalks

In addition to the improvements for vehicle traffic, the project is also designed to increase connectivity and safety for pedestrians and cyclists.

Once work is completed in the summer, there will be “on street” bike lanes along Queensgate, connecting to shareduse pathways along Queensgate and I-182. This means cyclists and pedestrians will find a more direct route to Queensgate and Keene as they currently need to detour by the wineries on Tulip Lane to remain on a bike path.

Sidewalk improvements also are planned as part of the project.

Roundabout artwork

The finishing touches on the roundabouts will include an artistic display using the theme “transformation.”

The city is working with its Arts Commission and has hired an artist to develop the artwork to be featured in each roundabout. An architect and artist from WSDOT are also part of the team.

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Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • February 2018

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • February 2018

25

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Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • February 2018

uBUSINESS BRIEFS Grant applications sought for programs supporting women, children

Applications are being accepted through March 16 for Women Helping Women Fund Tri-Cities grants.

Grants typically range from $2,500 to $25,000 and are limited to specific programs sponsored by a nonprofit agency or organization in Benton and Franklin counties.

Women Helping Women accepts grant applications on an annual basis. Since 2001, the organization has funded 102 grants, totaling more than $2 million dollars.

The grants are funded by proceeds from a luncheon held in October and are

awarded for programs operating Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, 2019.

Applications go through an extensive review process by the Women Helping Women board. All the proceeds raised during the annual luncheon are used to fund the selected programs.

The Women Helping Women board gives priority to programs helping improve the lives of women and children in the Tri-City area by assisting in their care and development.

Grant applications may not be submitted online. Applications must use the 2018 grant application and budget worksheet, which can be downloaded from the Women Helping Women website at whwftc.org/grant-applications.

Complete grant proposals must be received at the Women Helping Women

office at 713 Jadwin Ave. in Richland no later than noon March 16.

For more information, call 509-7136553 or email contact@whwftc.org.

Benton Fire District 4 to ask voters to support bond for new station

Benton Fire District 4 is making plans to ask voters to support a $7.5 million bond to build and equip a new fire station to keep pace with the population growth in its service territory.

The 52-square-mile district, which includes the city of West Richland, has built a fire station about every 20 years to accommodate population growth in its service territory.

Station 410, on Harrington Road, was built in 1977, and Station 420, on Bomb-

ing Range Road, was built in 1997.

The city of West Richland has grown by almost 25 percent since 2010, while the unincorporated areas of the fire district have experienced a 30 percent increase in the same amount of time.

“It’s important that we be ahead of the game when planning for emergency services,” said Fire Chief Bill Whealan.

In the western part of the fire district’s service territory, it can take almost 17 minutes to respond to an emergency call.

Call volumes have increased 61 percent for the fire district since 2010.

The fire district is planning to ask voters to consider a bond in the fall primary election to build and equip a station in the area, as well as buy two fire engines for existing stations to replace those that are approaching the end of their usable lives.

The third station and apparatus will balance the agency’s emergency response district-wide, reduce response times and provide additional units to respond during back-to-back emergencies.

Architectural and engineering work is underway, which reduces the amount of revenue needed for the project.

If approved by voters, the 20-year bond would cost 28 cents per $1,000 of assessed value. This means about $84 per year, or $7 per month, for the owner of a $300,000 home.

The fire district will share more information about the proposal with the public this spring.

Community members with questions may contact Whealan at 509-967-2496 or wwhealan@bcfd4.org.

Trios Foundation to name award winners at breakfast

The Trios Foundation is holding its annual breakfast at 7:30 a.m. Feb. 21 at the Three Rivers Convention Center in Kennewick.

The winner of the Jim Mokler Outstanding Leadership award will be presented to a community member who has made significant contributions and to the Tri-Cities. In addition to highlighting the foundation’s past and upcoming activities, $12,000 in scholarships will be awarded to students pursing or continuing a health care education.

The event is free and open to the public but registration is required. To register, call 509-221-5776 or email mandy. wallner@trioshealth.org.

Comment period on Hanford tunnels ends April 12

The U.S. Department of Energy Richland Operations Office is holding a 60-day public comment period through April 12 for a Class 3 modification to the Hanford Dangerous Waste Permit.

The modification addresses the stabilization of tunnels 1 and 2 at Purex until final closure decisions are made and implemented.

A public meeting is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. March 14 in the Richland Public Library, 955 Northgate Drive.

Visit the Hanford events calendar at Hanford.gov for more information.

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • February 2018

VITICULTURE

27

More students set sights on WSU degrees to launch wine industry careers 120 students now enrolled in viticulture, enology undergraduate program

BY AUDRA DISTIFENO

for Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business

Seven years ago, Becca DeKleine was the lone College of Agriculture student walking at Washington State University’s Tri-Cities campus commencement.

She carried the department’s banner by herself.

She and three others graduated together with an emphasis in viticulture and enology in 2011. The others graduated from the Department of Horticulture. Since then, WSU’s wine and grapes program has experienced significant growth and doesn’t show any sign of slowing.

Currently, 120 students are enrolled in the viticulture and enology undergraduate program and 28 are enrolled in the graduate program. These numbers are just under the total number of students who graduated from the program over the past 13 years combined.

WSU’s viticulture and enology program offers undergraduate, graduate and certifi-

cation programs at its Richland campus.

Since the program’s start in 2004, more than 130 students have earned undergraduate degrees in the field and more than 650 have earned non-degree certificates through online courses; and more than 50 students have earned master’s or doctorate degrees in the field since 2003.

DeKleine, who is now assistant manager and winemaker at Four Feathers Wine Estates in Prosser, credited WSU’s “strong science program” for her success and advancement in the wine industry.

“I couldn’t have my job now if I hadn’t done the program through WSU,” DeKleine said. “The program is very heavy in the sciences and requires an internship to graduate. It’s a great balance of science and practical knowledge.”

After Four Feathers, a division of Zirkle Fruit Co., opened its 50,000-square-foot facility in 2012, DeKleine was hired to work in the lab.

“I managed a lab, which would’ve been nearly impossible without all of the science

Washington State University research winemaker Richlard Larsen, left, and WSU viticulture and enology graduate students Ioan Gitsov and Layton Ashmore press research wine. (Courtesy of WSU Tri-Cities)

I experienced at WSU,” DeKleine said.

She gradually worked her way through the ranks at the facility, which crushes more than 15,000 tons of wine grapes per harvest and has more than three million gallons of tank capacity.

“One of the best parts of my job is to mentor the WSU students going through

the (viticulture and enology) program. We mentor about 10 juniors and seniors each harvest, but we’d hire more if we could,” DeKleine said. “Their attitudes are contagious. They’re so excited and it reminds me that our industry is a lot of fun.” uWSU, Page 32

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Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • February 2018

V iticulture

Prosser bulk winemaking operation poised to expand with growing demand Four Feathers Wine Estates processed 15,000 tons of grapes last year

BY KRISTINA LORD editor@tcjournal.biz

The winemaking happening inside Four Feathers Wine Estates in Prosser is no small operation.

The more than 100 towering silver tanks can store three million gallons within the 50,000-square-foot warehouse and process some 15,000 tons of wine grapes a year.

Four Feathers’ focus is on crafting highquality bulk wines.

The winery serves two kinds of customers: those who buy the bottle-ready wine it produces (75 clients), and those who want wine made to their own specifications (four clients).

“We’re really selling clients wine rather than grapes …. The bulk wine clients know they like our wines and they come back every year to buy them,” said David Forsyth, Four Feathers’ winemaker and general manager.

Clients bottle Four Feathers wines under their own labels.

“We do take wines all the way through bottling for clients. We bring in a mobile bottling line. We’ll do about 40,000 cases this year, or about 80,000 to 90,000 gallons,” Forsyth said.

A bulk wine minimum purchase is 280 gallons. The winery’s bottle-ready wines

include Chardonnay, Riesling, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Gris, Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon, Syrah and Malbec.

“2012 is when we made our first vintage,” Forsyth said.

The longtime winemaker worked at two of the state’s most respected wineries before joining Four Feathers — 23 years at Hogue Cellars and five years at Mercer Estates.

Zirkle Fruit Co. owns Four Feathers.

The Selah-based family operation farms apples, cherries, pears, blueberries and wine grapes throughout the region. The 70-year-old company also operates cold storage and packing sites in Selah and Prosser.

The Zirkles own about 3,000 acres of wine grape vineyards in Eastern Washington and about 2,200 acres are processed primarily for Ste. Michelle Wine Estates, the state’s largest winery.

The other 800 acres are used for Four Feathers’ wines. Last year, Four Feathers processed 15,000 tons of grapes.

The quality of fruit results in the quality of the wines, Forsyth said.

The Zirkle family owns and farms six vineyards: Four Feathers, which grows Riesling; Zillah Ranch, which grows Riesling and Syrah; Paterson, which grows grapes for Ste. Michelle; Soaring Eagle,

David Forsyth, winemaker and general manager of Four Feathers Wine Estates in Prosser, stands in the 50,000-square-foot warehouse that produces bulk wines.

which grows Cabernet; McNary, which grows Cabernet, Merlot, Syrah, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc; and Beverly, north of Wahluke slope, which grows Malbec.

Four Feathers’ bulk wine production is sourced primarily from the McNary, Zillah Ranch and Soaring Eagle vineyards.

With winemakers popping in and out of the Prosser facility off Benitz Road to monitor the progress of their wines, Forsyth said the operation brims with energy.

“There’s always a dynamic exchange of information,” he said.

The state-of-the-art facility can provide

a “boutique winemaking experience,” Forsyth said.

“Some clients run out of room in their own facility or access to grapes or don’t want to tie up capital,” he said, explaining why bulk wines are popular.

The warehouse features an elevated receiving area and gravity-fed crush pad that doesn’t rely on an auger for maceration, which reduces grape-skin tearing and results in a higher quality of wines “because the astringent compounds are at a minimum,” Forsyth said.

“It’s a preferred process for making high-end white wines,” he said.

Three large 50-ton presses can accommodate two semi-trucks at a time. The facility also offers good lighting and wide aisles.

“It’s all about efficiencies. It’s not efficiency for efficiency’s sake. It’s for freeing up winemakers to do winemaking, rather than dealing with broken pumps, or small tanks, or insufficient cooling systems. We can take our resources and people and apply them to specific winemaking issues,” Forsyth said.

Ten people work at Four Feathers with a crew of 40 hired to get through harvest.

Four winemakers are on staff. Forsyth, who sits on the wine advisory board for the Washington State University Wine Science Center in Richland, regularly offers internship experience to students studying viticulture.

“We have two people on our winemaking staff who graduated from WSU TriCities. We have a number of interns who work at the winery full time that we brought on as interns. We continue to grow and add good-paying jobs,” Forsyth said.

Winery turned cidery

After harvest, which is a 24-hour, seven-day, two-month operation, production slows down and begins to focus on cidermaking.

Four Feathers brews about 700,000 gallons of apple-pear ciders for MillerCoors’ Crispin Cider Co. annually. The ciders are naturally fermented using the raw, unpasteurized juice of fresh-pressed apples and pears, and brewed through classic coldfermentation and specially selected wine yeasts. uFOUR FEATHERS, Page 33

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • February 2018

V ITICULTURE

29

Long-awaited Columbia Gardens opens, second phase beginning soon Public plaza, space for food trucks to be completed this summer

BY ROBIN WOJTANIK

for Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business

Now that wine is being made and poured at Kennewick’s waterfront wine village, the community can look forward to the next ribbon cutting, as the second phase is set to get underway this summer.

A larger-than-expected crowd gathered for the Feb. 9 ribbon cutting of what’s officially called Columbia Gardens Urban Wine & Artisan Village, enticed by complimentary wine tastings and a chance to be one of the first to check out what Kennewick hopes to be the new Tri-City hot spot.

A supply of 300 commemorative wine glasses was quickly exhausted as officials estimated the crowd at 450 to 500 people.

The first phase of the 5.4-acre project included three buildings, streetscape, a waterfront trail, utilities and a wastewater treatment facility.

The project was more than a decade in the making and fell behind a targeted 2017 opening due to an extreme winter and initial building plans that proved difficult to execute.

With the help of some “value engineering,” the blueprints went back to the drawing board for revisions, so local contractors could use methods they’re more familiar with.

This time, the project was able to be delivered within the budget and the buildings were ready in November so that two wineries could move in.

The two new tenants are Bartholomew Winery and Palencia Wine Company, which will both will continue to operate second tasting rooms outside the area.

Bartholomew opened in limited hours in December, but Palencia won’t start pouring until early March.

The second phase will feature a public plaza with picnic grounds and a spot for food trucks. Broken into two parts, the first will include more parking, sidewalks, artwork, a public plaza and a small road to connect other parcels of land that are expected to one day feature cafés, coffee shops or other private development. This portion is set to be completed by this summer.

The second part of phase two will include a 2,500-square-foot tasting room building and another parking lot. Spring 2019 is the anticipating opening, just in time to host one, or more, tasting room tenants.

A final third phase is planned to include a $10 million culinary arts center for Columbia Basin College.

The wine village at 421 E. Columbia Drive is just east of the blue bridge and west of the cable bridge near Clover Island.

It’s a part of town that’s seen more new businesses in recent years, including a Bush Car Wash and Dutch Bros., alongside longtime mainstays like Hubby’s Pizza.

To prep for the wine village, the Port of Kennewick began buying up properties and demolished seven buildings a few years back to allow for the new construction. It also improved the shoreline to allow access to the Sacajawea Heritage Trail.

The city of Kennewick’s addition of a $1.5 million new wine effluent system as part of the infrastructure was a critical piece to allow winemakers to produce wine at the location. It is essentially a wastewater treatment system for wine to lower the acidity of the waste before it ends up in the city’s sewage system.

Bartholomew Winery co-owner, Chona Fawbush, said the investment being made into this new wine destination was the driv-

Sharing the golden scissors to cut the ribbon during the Feb. 9 ground-breaking of Columbia Gardens Urban Wine & Artisan Village are Don Barnes, vice president of the Port of Kennewick Commission, left, and Kennewick Mayor Don Britain. Winemaker Victor Palencia of Palencia Wine Company stands next to Barnes and Bart Fawbush of Bartholomew Winery is next to Britain.

(Courtesy Port of Kennewick)

ing reason she and her husband, Bart Fawbush, became inaugural tenants.

“We were excited about what the port was trying to do here. They were putting money in and they were committed. Other locations in Eastern Washington didn’t have that,” she said.

The couple moved their teenage son from Seattle to the Tri-Cities last July, in anticipation of a late summer opening for the village. Despite the delays, they didn’t lose faith in the project and were excited to

join the slower pace of life in Eastern Washington.

Bart Fawbush entered the wine business as an adult, sharing with the crowd the story of when he was first introduced to Washington wines.

“It was all downhill from there. I started asking questions like, ‘What is this? What am I tasting? Who made it? Where is it from? Can I meet those guys?’ I was hooked.” uCOLUMBIA GARDENS, Page 33

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Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • February 2018

V iticulture

Nevermind those wine grapes, Concords yield sweet juices

BY MARILOU SHEA

for Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business

Zeb’s Vineyard produces mighty fine grapes.

But they typically aren’t found in an award-winning bottle of wine.

Unlike the vinifera primarily grown on the West Coast that have ties to European heritage, Zeb’s grape varietals harken from good ole America.

The juicy Concord is named after its namesake Massachusetts town.

They’re the kind of grape found in a wide-array of Welch’s products, including juices in the grocery store, and they’re grown in the Riverview area of Pasco.

Our state ranks first in the nation for Concord grape production.

Jerry Czetobar, or Dr. Grape as he is affectionately known among growers, has overseen a modest 80-acre vineyard since 1990. His family worked with Welch’s since the co-op came to Washington in the early 1950s.

When they began growing grapes, Concords were dominant and the wine industry was very small, especially compared to today’s numbers. There were only 12 wineries back then, compared to the 900-plus operating in the state today.

Why grow juice grapes instead of wine grapes? They’re easier to grow and less, well, finicky. Concords don’t require a “perfect” location. They can take or leave the heat and they are har-

dier all-around, withstanding the cold weather “in the Basin versus up the Yakima Valley,” Czetobar said.

Czebotar’s vineyards are at a 400foot elevation and they just so happen to be the earliest vineyards in all of the National Grape Cooperative — which owns Welch’s — producing higher yields than average.

Zeb’s Vineyards produces 800 tons to 1,000 tons of grapes annually, which in turn yields 200,000 gallons of juice.

Washington gets the highest yields and the best sugars of any of the Concord-producing states, Czetobar said.

His must be the grapes my family has swooned over in the fall months when driving through Pasco. It’s a legacy we’ve passed down to my nieces and nephew when they come to town.

As soon as they take the right exit off Interstate 182, they roll down their windows to inhale the ripe, fruitiness to welcome fall.

Why Welch’s versus going solo? It’s family farmer-owned, for one thing, and that typically translates to smallerscale vineyards. And that’s important for farmers like Czetobar, who love what they do or they wouldn’t be doing it.

While there are bigger vineyards than Zeb’s, they’re not so big as to be considered enormous in comparison to say, a wine grape vineyard.

Once picked, the juice grapes in our

region have to be transferred to a processing center in Grandview within a set time or they will be turned away for not meeting grade requirements. At Marilou Shea Welch’s, contracts are established for every acre of every vineyard in the co-op to meet and maintain these high quality standards.

Being a member of a co-op like Welch’s also has ownership advantages over working directly with private wine companies. Among them are Welch’s ability to process the grapes, make the products and then market and sell them. It’s no small feat. And this frees up small farmers like Czebotar, who have a genuine love of the land and would rather be on their tractors.

There are 900 members in the National Grape Co-op in five states: Washington, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York — oddly none in Massachusetts any longer. That means that 900 growers own Welch’s.

Czebotar thinks that beats going private any day.

Industry challenges include Concord grape over-production from five, large nationwide crops what are they? that

dropped the cash price over the last five years, which in turn affected the entire juice grape industry.

Like other commodities, the operational costs to do business have risen and the value of land goes up every year. In Pasco, an acre can run between $40,000 to $48,000 and developers are gobbling them up.

Czetobar claims he’s the last, fulltime farmer (and the happiest) in the Riverview area of Pasco. One of his mentors, Vaughn Steele, worked his vineyard until he was 87.

Not pressed for time, Czetobar said he hopes to follow Steele’s example and produce many more grape crops.

His true joy comes from working in his vineyards. He said he’s doing it not for the love of money but for the love of the land.

Let’s raise a glass of Concord to that.

Food Love columnist Marilou Shea is the creator of Food Truck Fridays and adjunct faculty at Columbia Basin College’s Food Truck Academy.

Send us your business news info@tcjournal.biz

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • February 2018

V iticulture

31

Richland winery making one of best rosés in country Barnard Griffin to release 17,000 cases of latest vintage of Rosé of Sangiovese this month

BY ANDY PERDUE & ERIC DEGERMAN Wine News Service

When Rob Griffin arrived in Washington wine country from his native California in early 1977, he never dreamed he’d be most famous for making pink wine.

Yet today, the owner/winemaker of Barnard Griffin in Richland may be making the best rosé in America. Among wine lovers, Griffin is known for producing top Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Syrahs, always priced under $20, so delicious wines and reasonable prices have been his foundation for building a top multi-generational family-owned winery.

In what can only be considered a rite of spring, Barnard Griffin’s latest rosé — the 2017 vintage — won the sweepstakes award in January for best rosé in the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition, held each winter in the Sonoma County town of Cloverdale. The judging this year drew nearly 7,000 entries, making it the largest judging held in North America.

This is nothing new for Griffin, who has won the rosé category five times since 2008, and a gold medal every year there for 12 out of 13 years. With the top judges in California, Griffin has solidified his position as the best rosé producer in America.

“I’ve always liked it,” said Mike Dunne, a wine writer for the Sacramento Bee, who is considered one of the top wine judges in the country. “I like how forward it is — vibrant. I think that’s Sangiovese. I’m surprised more wineries don’t exploit Sangiovese in that way. Two of those three rosés in the (Chronicle) sweepstakes were Sangiovese.”

As with any wine, it starts with the grapes. Sangiovese is most famous in its native Italy, where it goes into the internationally famous Chianti wines of Tuscany.

Griffin doesn’t have a fondness for the variety and said he would not make a red table wine with the variety, but thought several years ago that the variety’s trademark bright acidity and red fruit aromas and flavors might be perfect for a summer

wine like rosé.

He first started bringing in grapes from longtime friend Maury Balcom, who has a vineyard north of Pasco. Griffin and Balcom spent years figuring out what the crop load would be to provide the balance of fruit and acidity in the wine.

After several years of trials, they have settled on about nine tons an acre, an amount that is roughly five times as much as a winemaker would seek for a typical table wine.

Griffin is almost embarrassed by this statistic, but points out that the vine naturally wants to carry this level of crop.

Sangiovese produces large, heavy clusters that result in a lot of wine — one reason it’s a favorite in Italy. It’s also better for the farmer, who generally gets paid by the ton.

The wine, which retails for $14 and is released each year on Valentine’s Day, resonates with wine lovers, who seem to lap it all up by the beginning of autumn, when the last case goes out the door.

Griffin’s success can be traced to his thoughtful process, as most winemakers produce pink wine as an afterthought, rather than deliberately from vineyard to tasting room. Rosé is one of the hottest categories in America, with more than a hundred Northwest wineries making pink wine. Last year, Rosé shipments increased 58 percent.

Since 2000, direct-to-consumer shipments have risen 200 percent, according to Sovos, an East Coast wine compliance firm.

The biggest competitor in the space is France, which produces a lot of rosé from the Provence, Loire and LanguedocRoussillon regions. One Manhattan wine shop reports that it sells 700 cases of rosé each year.

Rosé is good business, too. It’s the first wine made each fall, is not aged in oak or steel tanks, is bottled in spring and released to the public, which consumes it young, when it is fresh and vibrant.

Because it spends little time in the winery it means good cash flow for the winery.

The latest vintage is one of Griffin’s

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Rob Griffin’s Rosé of Sangiovese has won the rosé category five times since 2008, and a gold medal every year for 12 out of 13 years at the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition, the largest judging of wine in the United States.

The 2017 vintage won the rosé sweepstakes at the 2018 contest. (Courtesy Andy Perdue of Great Northwest Wine)

largest. At 17,000 cases, it’s his largestproduction wine, and he takes it seriously.

His daughter, Megan Hughes, focuses on white wines, and his longtime assistant winemaker Mickey French makes the reds.

“That leaves me with the rosé, and I love it,” Griffin said. “We share the responsibility on everything, but I take the rosé very seriously.”

Other wineries around the state have

followed Griffin’s lead, making their versions of Sangiovese rosé, and winning awards.

But Griffin has his style dialed in, and it is a longtime favorite with professionals as well as statewide consumers.

Andy Perdue and Eric Degerman run Great Northwest Wine, an award-winning media company. Learn more about wine at greatnorthwestwine.com.

32

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • February 2018

WSU, From page 27 The winemaker also works as a mentor in an entry-level WSU class, which helps ensure students have made the right choice pursuing degrees in the wine industry. In addition, she partners with WSU’s Department of Agriculture to help develop the viticulture and enology program and ensure students will have the skills and experiences needed for a successful transition into the industry.

“The WSU program brings us highlyqualified employees,” DeKleine said.

More than $66,000 in viticulture and enology scholarship money is annually awarded, while annual research funding exceeds $3 million.

“It’s a great program and definitely provides a great foundation in the sciences, from grape growing all the way through

winemaking,” said Will Wiles, assistant winemaker for Col Solare on Red Mountain.

Wiles spent his first two years in Pullman and the last two attending classes at the WSU Tri-Cities campus, graduating in 2009. He began to work at Col Solare five years ago as an enologist.

“I definitely can use the knowledge I acquired at WSU and apply it in a hands-on way here at Col Solare,” Wiles said. “I really love it; it’s a fun industry. It’s a lot of hard work and challenging, but very rewarding. On the winery side, I get to deal with the wine, plus visit with the people here as they enjoy what we make.”

Wiles said the winery hosts interns from the WSU program, and he continues to collaborate with WSU as chairman of the Washington Wine Technical Group, or

V iticulture WWTG, which provides seminars, research and information for the industry to be the best it can be.

“Our (WWTG) goal is to evaluate the knowledge of everyone in the wine side of the industry. It’s more the technical/science side of it – not the business side of it,” Wiles said.

The university’s dedicated viticulture and enology program launched in 2010.

Previous to that, viticulture and enology was an area of focus in the horticulture program. Graduates earned a degree in horticulture with an emphasis in viticulture and enology. It’s now a viticulture and enology major through integrated plant science.

“Integrated plant science is a fusion between food science and horticulture,” said Kaury Balcom, viticulture and enoloPaid Advertising

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Still, this doesn’t mean you should necessarily expect an uninterrupted streak of big gains. Some signs point to greater market volatility and lower returns. To navigate this changing landscape, think about these suggestions: • Consider rebalancing your portfolio. If appropriate, you may want to rebalance your investment mix to ensure you have a reasonable percentage of stocks – to help provide the growth you need to achieve your goals – and enough fixed-income vehicles, such as bonds, to help reduce your portfolio’s vulnerability to market volatility and potential short-term downturns.

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gy communications coordinator. “We have a truly comprehensive viticulture and enology program. Some people may not realize that since 2004, we not only offer graduate and undergraduate degrees, but have also offered non-degree certificates through online courses.”

Upon successfully finishing 18 months of courses, taught by the same faculty as the undergraduate and graduate programs, students earn a certificate in either viticulture or enology.

“We have 35 viticulture and 35 enology students for a total of 70 per year seeking these certificates,” Balcom said. “Some are international students and others register from all over the country. They do come to Tri-Cities or Prosser for hands-on camps to try on what they’ve learned in the online courses.”

WSU’s world-renowned viticulture and enology faculty include seven core members, 11 affiliate members and 15 staff members.

“Our student winemaking project is also thriving,” Balcom said. “Students enrolled in the Blended Learning class each semester get hands-on experience making wine.”

This faculty-led project pairs students with Washington state growers and winemakers to create unique wines under the WSU Blended Learning label. Area residents can buy wines in local stores or at the Walter Clore Wine & Culinary Center in Prosser.

New Blended Learning wines are released annually at the WSU Spring Release Party. This year’s gala is scheduled for March 28 and will include a 2015 Durif (Petite Sirah) made with Kiona Vineyards, 2016 GSM made with Bookwalter, and a 2017 Rosé made with Ancient Lakes Wine Co. The release party, sponsored by Budd’s Broiler, includes a four-course dinner and wine pairing. Tickets will soon be available at wine.wsu.edu, along with online wine purchases.

WSU’s wine-related programs have expanded with the addition of a Wine and Beverage Business Management program through the School of Hospitality Business Management.

Just over two years ago, WSU opened the world’s largest and most technologically advanced wine research and education facility on the Tri-Cities campus — the WSU Ste. Michelle Wine Estates Wine Science Center in Richland.

“Just three years later, we are making plans to expand these facilities with the build-out of the Life Sciences Teaching Lab (at the wine science center),” Balcom said. Construction is expected to begin this year thanks to a $1 million donation from Wine Spectator Magazine last August. Half of the money will be used to build and outfit the lab, while the other half will go toward scholarships.

Another enhancement to the viticulture and enology program was in the form of upgrades and remodels to the Irrigated Agriculture Research and Extension Center in Prosser, Balcom said.

An upcoming change is a new requirement, which is a phased process that will start for next fall’s new enrollees. Viticulture and enology students will be required to spend their junior and senior years at the Tri-City campus. Prior to this change, it was a dual-campus program, Balcom said.

V ITICULTURE

Ignite Youth Mentoring program’s future uncertain

BY TRI-CITIES AREA JOURNAL OF BUSINESS STAFF

Declining revenue has forced the Richland-based Ignite Youth Mentoring program to lay off staff and focus on restructuring.

The executive board of the struggling Christian mentoring organization issued an announcement about the “steadily declining revenue” to staff, donors, mentors and the community last month.

The board planned to meet community members, supporters, mentors and church leadership to develop a plan so the programs could continue.

A working board and volunteer staff will continue to manage current programs.

Lunch Buddies, which operates in nine schools in three school districts, pairs an

adult mentor with a student for weekly lunch meetups. The program will finish out the 2017-18 school year.

A one-on-one program pairs an adult with a student for mentoring.

The seven-year-old organization has long been a proponent of one-to-one mentoring to help at-risk youth form strong values, develop social and job-related skills, and discover God’s purpose for their lives.

Ignite offered its programs at no cost to participating families.

Ignite officials said the nonprofit’s next steps would be to reach out to area churches and the community for financial support and volunteers.

Call 509-948-3143 for more information.

The Four Feathers Wine Estates warehouse features an elevated receiving area and gravity-fed crush pad that doesn’t rely on an auger for maceration, which reduces grape-skin tearing to reduce astringent compounds. It’s a preferred process for making high-end white wines, said David Forsyth, winemaker and general manager. (Courtesy Four Feathers Wine Estates)

FOUR FEATHERS, From page 28 “We sell apples to Tree Top. They process them and sell us the juice. We ferment and clarify it and then ship to Colfax, California, to Crispin,” Forsyth said.

The ciders have an alcohol content ranging from 6 percent to 10.5 percent.

“We’re probably the largest cidery on the West Coast,” he said.

Amid the giant steel tanks, Forsyth also oversees a small winemaking operation tucked into the back corner of the large warehouse. The 60 barrels of wine aren’t sold at stores.

“We produce wines under our own label to showcase what our vineyards can do,” he said.

Forsyth expects Four Feathers to continue to grow along with the state’s wine industry.

“We’re keeping an eye on the future. We know Washington wine continues to expand and we want to be there and offer services and be able to handle those additional grapes and wine that come in the future,” he said. “We’re poised to go there with the industry.”

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Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • February 2018 COLUMBIA GARDENS, From page 29 Known for his unique use of varietals, Fawbush had been making wines in West Seattle, prior to moving the operation to Kennewick.

Bartholomew Winery will continue to pour wines from its tasting room in the old Rainier Brewery that featured the big red “R” alongside Interstate 5 south in Seattle, while adding this second tasting room to its offerings.

Winemaker Victor Palencia grew up in the wine business in Prosser, commercially producing wine as a high school senior, well before he was legally able to enjoy the product he was creating.

Palencia earned a winemaking degree by the time he was 20 years old and spent years commuting to Walla Walla after being “bit by the bug” and opening a winery there in 2012.

He spent more than two and a half hours each day commuting back and forth from Prosser and realized, “Home is where the heart is, and I wanted to bring some of that energy home.”

He found the Kennewick wine village to be an ideal spot to do so.

“The wine industry is such a welcoming industry,” said Palencia, who called the opening a “dream come true.”

“The support from the community members has just been a humbling experience,” he said.

Palencia plans to keep his current tasting room open at the Walla Walla Airport.

The wine village ribbon-cutting ceremony brought representatives from multiple governments in the Tri-Cities, including West Richland, Benton City, Richland and the Port of Pasco, among others.

“This project fits right into our overall goals and vision, and that includes development of our rivershores. This is just perfect for what we’ve been planning for the last 20 years,” said Kris

33

Watkins, president and CEO of Visit Tri-Cities.

With plans to retire soon after decades as the head of tourism marketing for the region, Watkins said, “I am really, really pleased to have my last public appearance at something like this.”

The first phase of Columbia Gardens was completed with a $3.4 million contract awarded to local company, Banlin Construction.

Following a competitive bid process for the right to be a tenant, the port is charging the wineries 65 cents a square foot to lease the property.

The city of Kennewick and Benton County each committed $1 million dollars through the Benton County Rural County Capital Fund to get the second phase completed.

This is a 9/10ths of a cent sales tax collected by Benton County and spent on projects that create jobs and spur economic development. It brings in about $300,000 each year and is set to expire in 2026.

Eventually, the third phase will include roads, utilities and other infrastructure to support the culinary school and seven acres of mixed use development called, The Willows.

The entire project is valued at $13 million, when all phases are complete.

Bartholomew Winery is open noon to 5 p.m. weekends and plans to expand to five days a week soon. There is a $10 tasting fee that may be waived with the purchase of a bottle.

Palencia Wine Company, which bottles under the names Palencia Wines and Monarcha Wines, will hold a grand opening March 3 and then have regular operating hours from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Thursdays to Sundays initially.

Both wineries are expected to increase their hours as the weather warms up and people can enjoy the patio and riverfront walkways.

34

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • February 2018 SCORE, From page 6 The renewed energy seems to be working because the local team has doubled its number of mentors since October.

Recruiting 20 to the team is the goal, with a plan of adding 15 by end of this fiscal year. Right now, the team numbers 11, Casey said, To become a mentor, volunteers must take an online course to learn about “the SCORE way.”

A big part of this is “listening before judging,” Casey said.

David Phongsa has been receiving mentoring from SCORE for about six months now. He’s preparing to launch Ninja Bistro, an Asian Fusion food truck, in April.

He found out about SCORE by doing a Google search for small business support. He also traveled to Spokane and Seattle to utilize their small business classes for entrepreneurs.

Phongsa said SCORE is what you make of it.

“For me, SCORE has helped me stay on track. I meet with my mentor once a month and we go over my tasks and goals to achieve. The classes really helped me learn about how to start a business,” Phongsa said.

He said the best advice he received from SCORE was to prioritize his time to align with his goals and beliefs for his company.

Those interested in getting involved in SCORE don’t have to be a mentor.

Casey said the chapter needs on-call subject matter experts and volunteers for fundraising, marketing and administrative tasks, or to teach a workshop on their business expertise.

He said fundraising would help to supplement SCORE’s modest budget.

He said he’d like to buy SCORE shirts for volunteers, membership to area networking organizations and a laptop.

The revitalized chapter also has begun holding regular workshops as well as monthly meetings at Kennewick’s Barracuda Coffee Co. SCORE is using Meetup.com to organize these sessions, billed as a “safe place to fly your dreams.”

“I’m trying to feed a community of entrepreneurs,” said Casey, owner of Growing Forward, a company offering leadership and life coaching.

SCORE mentors can’t recruit clients for their own personal businesses because it is considered a conflict of interest, Casey said.

Casey said just being “in the company of other entrepreneurs feeds my spirit.”

Andersen said anyone thinking about starting up a business should “absofreakinglutely” seek out SCORE. “SCORE is the first place you should start,” he said.

For more information, visit SCORE. org or call 509-735-1000, ext. 235.

SCORE operates out of the Tri-City Development Council building, 7130 W. Grandridge Blvd., Suite A, in Kennewick.

SCORE is offering a workshop on improving public speaking from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. March 6 at Meier Architecture-Engineering, 12 W. Kennewick Ave. in Kennewick. Cost is $75

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • February 2018

35

Tri-Cities Airport reports 723-passenger uptick over previous year Airport officials expected more but winter weather, pilot shortage took toll

BY TRI-CITIES AREA JOURNAL OF BUSINESS STAFF

The Tri-Cities Airport saw a modest growth of 723 additional passengers last year despite facing the challenges of a harsh winter and the loss of more than 35,000 available seats, the result of a reduction in available flights.

That’s fewer than anticipated for the year, but snowy winter weather led to a number of flight cancellations at the beginning of 2017.

And an industry-wide pilot shortage that started in the summer led to the cancellation of the airport’s Portland flight and the use of smaller planes for some flights to Seattle.

Despite United Airlines adding seats when it started flying larger planes to Denver, Colorado, in October, these factors combined to drive down the number of available seats for the year, according to airport officials.

The total number of available seats dropped from 477,623 seats in 2016, to 442,306 in 2017.

Though there weren’t as many seats available, more people flew out of Pasco last year than the previous year.

In 2017, the airport recorded 376,481 passenger boardings, a 0.2 percent

increase over 2016’s 375,758 boardings.

The airport averages 2 percent to 3 percent growth each year.

“While we did not grow at the rate we hoped, I think we saw a lot of positives.

(Last year) was still a record year and we had 8 percent fewer seats than we had in 2016. That is 8 percent fewer chances to increase our enplanements but we did it.

Thanks to our travelers, we were able to keep our remaining planes full,” said Buck Taft, airport director, in a news release.

Enplanements are a measure of passengers boarding flights.

Taft said the Pasco-to-Portland flight will return March 13.

“I think we are still seeing a strong TriCities economy. People still flew in record numbers, but sometimes we just did not have a seat for them,” said Jean Ryckman, board president of the Port of Pasco, which operates the airport. “The port works hard to increase available seats, whether that is recruiting a new route, adding new flights on existing routes or using larger planes for an existing flight.

More seats means more options for our passengers and that is important to us.”

The airport recently completed a $43 million terminal expansion project doubled the size of the facility.

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The Tri-Cities Airport in Pasco recorded a modest 0.2 percent increase in passenger boardings in 2017 over the previous year despite weather-related flight cancellations and fewer available seats. (Courtesy Port of Pasco)

The Pasco-to-Portland flight returns March 13.

36

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • February 2018

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • February 2018

State legislator’s bill aims to protect citizens in wake of federal pot crackdown

BY MICHELLE DUPLER

for Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business

If one Washington lawmaker has his way, the federal government won’t be able to look to state employees for help enforcing federal marijuana prohibitions.

Rep. David Sawyer, D-Tacoma, introduced House Bill 2124 in the wake of the Jan. 4 memorandum

by U.S. Attorney General Jeff S e s s i o n s instructing federal prosecutors to resume enforcement of federal criminal Rep. David Sawyer statutes prohibiting the cultivation, distribution and possession of marijuana.

Under the Obama administration, Deputy Attorney General James Cole issued a memorandum essentially saying the federal government would take a hands-off approach in states where marijuana had been legalized and strong regulatory systems were being developed.

However, in the past year, the Trump administration — and Sessions in particular — have voiced strong anti-marijuana sentiment, signaling a possible reversal of the Obama-era anti-enforcement policy.

That reversal came with the Jan. 4 memorandum, creating tension in states like Washington where marijuana has been legalized, while the drug remains a Schedule I illegal substance under federal law. Schedule I substances are defined as those with the most potential for harm and least potential for benefi-

cial medical use.

Sawyer said he introduced HB 2124 as a means of protecting Washington citizens who are complying with state law.

The bill prohibits any state resources from being used to “assist the federal government in any activity that results in the loss of revenue through an interference with the state marijuana market,” according to an analysis prepared by non-partisan staff for the House Finance Committee.

The state marijuana market has generated nearly $710 million in total tax revenue for the state since legal activity began in 2014, with more than $2.5 billion worth of legal marijuana products purchased by consumers in the state, according to data from the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board.

The bill also would penalize any state employee who knowingly violated the prohibition against aiding the federal government with marijuana prosecutions.

Bill Berkman, Benton County GOP chairman, said he’s been watching the bill and is concerned about the effects it may have.

“It’s incentivizing public employees … not to cooperate with federal employees on anything that might result in a reduction of marijuana revenues,” he said.

Sawyer said he thinks the federal government will be less likely to pursue prosecutions without being able to commandeer state resources.

“If people have a target on their back … I feel it would be a lot harder for them to do (prosecutions) on the constrained budgets they have,” Sawyer said. “I wanted to make sure the feds have as much cost as possible to protect our citizens.”

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MARIJUANA, From page 1 On the flip side, Klippert introduced House Bill 2484, which would allow local governments the authority to enact bans under their own power and require that if a local government opts to pass such a ban, then the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board can’t renew the license of any marijuana business already operating in the jurisdiction or proposed to be opened there.

Klippert said HB 2484 is Rep. Brad Klippert intended to address the controversial siting of a marijuana retail shop in an unincorporated “doughnut hole” of Benton County land surrounded by a West Richland residential neighborhood.

Benton County chose not to enact a moratorium on marijuana businesses after Initiative 502 legalized use, sales and growth of the drug, even though a majority of county residents voted against the initiative.

That left little recourse for West Richland residents who felt the pot shop was a bad fit for their neighborhood in the area of Arena Road.

Bill Berkman, chairman of the Benton County GOP, said the uproar among residents is one reason he and other local party officials opted to travel to Olympia to testify at a public hear-

37

ing on HB 2336.

“We have a lot of concerned citizens,” Berkman said. “They have been told by real estate brokers their property values are going to go down because nobody wants to be next to a pot shop.”

But since the shop wasn’t violating any zoning regulations or other laws, there was nothing residents could do.

The hope was that Sawyer’s bill would allow a public vote to abate a marijuana business that wasn’t a good fit with the surrounding community, but Berkman said the bill’s language didn’t offer that fix to the residents of West Richland since it only allowed residents of the specific jurisdiction where the business is located to vote — in other words, only residents of unincorporated Benton County.

“The real stakeholders are the residents of West Richland and yet they’re not able to vote on a measure calling for an abatement of a retail pot store,” Berkman said.

While the Benton County GOP neither supported nor opposed the bill in testimony at the public hearing in Olympia, Berkman said another issue he had with the bill is that it takes away local government control in favor of the state.

The bill specifically states that Washington state law preempts municipal ordinances or regulations regarding regulation of the production, processing, and retail sale of marijuana — a detail that Initiative 502 omitted. uMARIJUANA, Page 38

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Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • February 2018

MARIJUANA, From page 37 According to the bill analysis provided by the Commerce & Gaming Committee staff, that led to litigation to answer the question whether cities and counties were pre-empted from enacting ordinances preventing or restricting state-licensed marijuana businesses from locating in their jurisdictions.

A few courts have ruled that local governments are not preempted from passing such ordinances, but Sawyer said that’s not what the initiative intended.

He said in speaking to attorneys for the Legislature, their interpretation was that the state preempted local governments when it came to regulating marijuana businesses.

“We are trying to fix what the initiative

uBUSINESS BRIEFS Vit plant procurement tops $211M in Tri-Cities in FY17

Hanford’s Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant’s procurement topped $211 million in the 2017 fiscal year.

Bechtel National announced that $126 million of the vit plant’s procurement was spent in Oregon and Washington, including $94 million in the Tri-Cities on services and goods such as tools, electrical supplies and more.

Bechtel has spent more than $4 billion on goods and services during the construction of the vit plant, including $1.94 billion in Oregon and Washington and $1.36 billion in the Tri-Cities.

attempted to do,” he said.

HB 2336 was passed by the Commerce & Gaming Committee on Jan. 23 and is pending a decision by the Rules Committee whether it will be sent to a floor vote in the House.

Klippert’s bill, HB 2484, has not received a public hearing in the Commerce & Gaming Committee, and Sawyer said it will not. With no committee movement, the bill is effectively dead this session.

“I do not think his bills help this area he was attempting to help,” Sawyer said.

However, Sawyer said he would be willing to consider legislation in his committee that provided an effective fix for the West Richland problem.

Despite their opposing approaches, both lawmakers say they’re looking out

for the best interests of Washingtonians.

“This is not about me. This is not about Brad getting his name in the paper,” Klippert said. “I do this because I care about the community I live in. If I see something harming the citizens I serve, I seek to protect them.”

And both see the black market as a problem that their legislation can help solve.

Klippert’s view is that I-502 is a failed experiment and that allowing local governments more control to enact bans would help quash the black market — and he’d overturn marijuana legalization if he could.

“Narcotics officers have told me the movement of illegal drugs is worse now since we legalized marijuana,” Klippert

Tickets on sale for Rascal Rodeo fundraiser

Outage map created for Benton PUD customers

Tickets for the Honky Tonk Hoedown, a Rascal Rodeo fundraiser, will be on sale at Kennewick Ranch & Home through March 19 or by calling 509-5285947.

The annual event includes silent and live auctions and testimonials, along with a buffet dinner. This year’s event is March 23 at the Red Lion in Pasco.

Rascal Rodeo is a nonprofit with a mission to produce rodeo events for special needs people of all ages. In 2018, there are more than a dozen rodeos scheduled throughout Washington, Oregon and Idaho.

For more information about Rascal Rodeo, visit rascalrodeo.org.

A new outage center has been added to Benton PUD’s website at BentonPUD. org. featuring a real-time outage map.

The map also has been added to the Benton PUD’s SmartHub app.

The map shows the general location of the outage, whether it is planned, the number of customers without power and work crew status. Specific addresses without power will not be listed. The map can be accessed on line or via the app.

Customers enrolled in SmartHub also can sign up for text and email alerts on BentonPUD.org. To report an outage, call 888-582-2176 or go to SmartHub on a computer or app on a mobile device.

said. “It’s not working.”

Sawyer said he believes that strengthening the system of legal marijuana retailers, growers, testers, and other businesses is what will chip away at the black market in Washington.

“We have proven we can’t stop it. The voters decided to attempt this experiment.

Local governments are not being helpful in rewarding the illicit market by having these bans,” Sawyer said.

“As someone looking at the statewide system, I am more and more convinced that the only way to beat the black market is to take the market away from them,” Sawyer said. “With moratoriums, we effectively are creating a stronghold for the black market to compete with us because we don’t have local stores.”

Klippert said he’s aware that HB 2484 is unlikely to advance this session, but has hopes for two other pieces of marijuana-related legislation he introduced in response to complaints he received from Finley residents about noxious odors from a legal marijuana grow.

• House Bill 2744 would prohibit marijuana licensees from engaging in activities that can be seen or smelled from public places or nearby properties and allow local governments to create civil penalties, including abatement procedures, for violators.

• House Bill 2960 would allow local governments to pass ordinances requiring marijuana cultivators to grow their crops inside a fully enclosed and secure structure.

Neither bill has received a hearing date in the Commerce & Gaming Committee.

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • February 2018

39

PNNL-UW partnership could lead to new scientific discoveries Organizations form NW IMPACT to advance research in materials science

researchers; streamline access to research facilities at the UW’s Seattle campus and PNNL’s Richland campus for institute A closer collaboration between the top projects; involve at least 20 new UW scientific brains at Pacific Northwest graduate students in PNNL-UW collaboNational Laboratory and the University rations; and provide seed grants to instiof Washington could fuel future discover- tute-affiliated researchers to tackle new scientific frontiers in a collaborative fashies.

PNNL and UW’s new partnership aims ion.

The institute builds on a history of sucto power advancements in materials that cessful partnerships between the two transform energy, telecommunications, organizations, including joint faculty medicine, information technology and appointments and past collaborations, other fields. such as the Materials Synthesis and Touch screens, electric cars, fiberSimulations Across Scales Initiative, the optics and implantable devices are some PNNL-led Battery 500 consortium and a of the innovations that grew out of new UW-based Materials Research research on new materials.

UW President Ana Mari Cauce and Science and Engineering Center.

But NW IMPACT is expected to be the PNNL Director Steven Ashby announced beginning of a longthe creation of term partnership the Northwest “We are joining between PNNL and Institute for Materials together our UW. Physics, Chemistry “By partnering the expertise and and Technology, or UW and PNNL NW IMPACT, on Jan. experiences to together through NW 31 at PNNL’s create the next IMPACT, the sum Richland campus. generation of will truly be greater “The science of than the parts,” making new materileaders who will said David Ginger, a als is vital to a wide create the materials UW professor of range of advanceof the future.” chemistry and chief ments, many of which David Ginger, scientist at the we have yet to imagco-director of NW IMPACT UW Clean Energy ine,” Ashby said in a Institute. “We are statement. “By comjoining together our bining ideas, talent and resources, I have expertise and experiences to create the no doubt our two organizations will find next generation of leaders who will create new ways to improve lives and provide the materials of the future.” our next generation of materials scientists Ginger will co-lead the institution in its with valuable research opportunities.” initial phase with Jim De Yoreo, chief Cauce said the partnership’s “enorscientist for materials synthesis and simumous potential” could lead to “major lation across scales at PNNL and a joint changes in our lives and the world.” appointee at the UW. “We are excited to strengthen the ties Some of the areas in which NW between our two organizations, which IMPACT will initially focus include: bring complementary strengths and a • Materials for energy conversion and shared passion for ground-breaking disstorage, which can be applied to more covery,” she said. efficient solar cells, batteries and indusOver its first few years, NW IMPACT trial applications aims to hire a permanent institute direc• Quantum materials, such as ultrathin tor, who will be based at both PNNL and semiconductors or other materials that the UW; create at least 20 new joint can harness the rules of quantum mechanUW-PNNL appointments among existing

BY TRI-CITIES AREA JOURNAL OF BUSINESS STAFF

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and University of Washington leaders attend the launch of NW IMPACT on Jan. 31 at the PNNL campus in Richland.

From left, David Ginger, NW IMPACT co-director, UW professor of chemistry and chief scientist at the UW Clean Energy Institute; UW President Ana Mari Cauce; PNNL Director Steven Ashby; Jim De Yoreo, NW IMPACT co-director and chief scientist for materials synthesis and simulation across scales at PNNL. (Courtesy PNNL)

ics at subatomic-level precision for applications in quantum computing, telecommunications and beyond.

• Materials for water separation and utilization, which include processes to make water purification and ocean desalination methods faster, cheaper and more energy-efficient.

• Biomimetic materials, which are synthetic materials inspired by the structures and design principles of biological molecules and materials within our cells — including proteins and DNA. These materials could be applicable in medical settings for implantable devices

or tissue engineering, and for selfassembled protein-like scaffolds in industrial settings.

“The science of making materials involves understanding where the atoms must be placed in order to obtain the properties needed for specific applications, and then understanding how to get the atoms where they need to be,” De Yoreo said.

The new institute will draw on the strengths and talents of each institution for innovative collaborations in these areas. uNW IMPACT, Page 40

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Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • February 2018

A University of Washington student works on the roll-to-roll printer at the Washington Clean Energy Testbeds. (Courtesy UW Clean Energy Institute)

NW IMPACT, From page 39 For example, PNNL has broad expertise in materials for improved batteries. The lab also offers best-in-class imaging, nuclear magnetic resonance and mass spectrometry capabilities at EMSL, the Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory, a DOE Office of Science user facility. DOE supports fundamental research at PNNL in chemistry, physics and materials sciences that are key to materials development.

UW brings complementary facilities and equipment to the partnership, such as the Washington Clean Energy Testbeds and a cryo-electron microscopy facility, as well as expertise in a variety of “big data” research and training endeavors, research and education programs, and ongoing materials research projects through the National Science Foundation-funded Molecular Engineering Materials Center.

uBUSINESS BRIEFS Kennewick’s Hansen Park improvements underway

Improvements are underway at the existing 25-acre Hansen Park at the south end of Columbia Center Boulevard in Kennewick.

Work includes two picnic shelters, a restroom, 4,210 linear feet of asphalt path, benches, trash receptacles, parking lot, street lights, water lines, irrigation, sewer service, community vegetable garden and a community heritage garden.

Estimated completion date is the end of July.

Visitors to the park are asked to be aware of and steer clear of construction.

Portions of the project will also include community volunteers. Those interested in volunteering can go to go2kennewick.com/543/VolunteerOpportunities for more information.

Emerging leaders series to help entrepreneurs

A program best described as a 26 week mini-MBA for small businesses will be held in Spokane.

The U.S. Small Business Administration’s 2018 Emerging Leaders initiative is aimed at executives of small businesses poised for growth in emerging markets.

Deadline to apply is March 1.

The free series includes nearly 100 hours of classroom time. It also provides opportunities for small business owners to work with experienced coaches and mentors, attend workshops, and develop connections with their peers, local leaders and the financial community.

Interested executives can learn more at sba.gov/emergingleaders, or by calling 509-353-2800.

Legends Casino Hotel announces grant deadline

The deadline for nonprofits to apply for Legends Casino Hotel’s annual Yakama Cares grant is March 31.

In 2017, more than $507,272 was distributed to 200 area nonprofits.

Grant recipients included schools, senior services, veteran services, food banks, shelters, and many more in Benton, Franklin, Kittitas, Klickitat, Adams and Yakima counties.

A committee of five community members and Yakama Nation Legends Casino employees receives an average of 500 to 800 applications annually to evaluate.

The applications undergo multiple rounds of cuts before the final selection.

Charitable organizations whose service area lies within a 100-mile radius of the Legends Casino Hotel campus and which work to address a youth/ educational need, elder care and activities or a medical benefit to the community receive priority consideration.

The application can be found at legendscasino.com/yakama-cares.

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • February 2018

41

Ag community meets to hear updates on farm bill, ag reform strategies Washington Policy Center’s Farm to Free Market event in Pasco attracts 300 people

BY LAURA KOSTAD

for Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business

Components of the 2018 farm bill, an economic model based on the success of New Zealand’s sweeping reform, and the ongoing battle to protect assets and existing legislation that supports agricultural producers were among the topics highlighted at Washington Policy Center’s second annual Farm to Free Market dinner.

It’s all about drawing on the “knowledge and experience of those that work the land to develop solutions,” said Dann Mead Smith, Washington Policy Center president.

The Feb. 8 event, held at the Pasco Red Lion, attracted nearly 300 growers, orchardists, farmers, cattlemen, business owners, elected officials and citizens from around the state.

U.S. Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers and Maurice McTigue of George Mason University’s Mercatus Center were keynote speakers, Discussion about the 2018 farm bill inspired talk of a way forward for the struggling agricultural sector through strategic economic reform.

The possibility of a federal government shutdown and an ongoing budget debate kept McMorris Rodgers at the Capitol. She instead shared a pre-recorded video to

answer questions submitted by attendees via email.

“Three priorities for the farm bill are protecting access to crop insurance, increasing market development and agricultural research. … All of these will make it easier for our farmers to feed all of us,” McMorris Rodgers said.

With the need for food production to double by 2050 to keep up with demand, coupled with 59 years old being the average age of American farmers, it’s becoming more urgent to encourage production by “increasing access and opportunities for the next generation of farmers,” McMorris Rodgers said.

She said the new tax reform is a step in the right direction, enabling farmers large and small to invest, thereby improving their ability to compete.

McMorris Rodgers serves on the Energy and Commerce Committee and played a key role in the 2014 farm bill, which advanced critical research priorities for Eastern Washington farmers and researchers at the Washington State University.

McTigue said the 2018 farm bill should aim to eliminate unhelpful subsidies: “You have to make sure (subsidies) are producing the result you want.”

The former farmer was selected to speak because of his role as a cabinet minister and member of the New Zealand parlia-

Madilynne Clark, left, agriculture policy research director at Washington Policy Center, based in the Tri-Cities, chats with Maurice McTigue, a former New Zealand parliament member and cabinet minister, during the second annual Farm to Free Market dinner at Pasco Red Lion on Feb. 8. About 300 people attended.

ment — 40 percent of which were farmers — and his work with the country’s governmental and economic reform achieved through market-driven, pro-growth policies.

McTigue now serves as vice president of outreach for the Mercatus Center, a university-based research center in Virginia, which aims to bridge the gap between academic ideas and real-world problems.

McTigue is the director of the center’s Government Accountability Project and a member of the Spending and Budget Initiative and State and Local Policy Project, through which he has advised and interacted with a number of federal agencies and state governments.

He said because of New Zealand’s extensive economic reform “industries have done so much better now that they’re out from under the government, which was forcing them to make decisions not necessarily good for them.”

A part of New Zealand’s reform included slashing the size of the governmental bureaucracy and cutting all government farm subsidies in 1985, which McTigue said involved placing trust in the market.

“Markets will actually do the right thing if you let them,” he said.

“People are adaptable,” he added. “If you get government out of the road, then people do exciting, entrepreneurial things.” uWPC, Page 42

42

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • February 2018

WPC, From page 41 It was ingenuity and the reconfiguration of traditional approaches to the economy which allowed New Zealand to re-invent itself and thrive, he said.

“It’s putting money into new ideas that start new industries,” McTigue said.

McTigue cited examples such as implementing a water market, which assigns rights to the user, moving farms and ranches to non-traditional yet suitable, terrain, and removing all tariffs and import protections to ensure competitive pricing.

The most important lesson McTigue said he learned about committing to reform was to take action.

“You might not get the perfect solution put together by the (plan) designers, but the important part is getting it done,” he said.

McMorris Rodgers said keeping up with the latest science, technology and industry

innovations are key.

She said the expansion of broadband internet into rural areas is of particular importance when it comes to modernizing the agricultural system, since it enables farmers to keep closer tabs on crucial growing factors such as soil moisture levels.

McTigue said one of the major keys to New Zealand’s success was maximizing profit over yield.

Contrary to some anti-North American Free Trade and Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement rhetoric coming from the White House, he and McMorris Rodgers emphasized the critical importance of obtaining and broadening access to international markets.

“Washington is the most trade-dependent state in the country,” accounting for $340 billion in exports, McMorris Rodgers said. “Pulling out of TPP and NAFTA is not

the right direction; we’re losing markets that took many years to develop and will take many more to get back.”

Trade is critical to Washington growers, since 95 percent of its customer base lies outside the U.S. In the coming year, the Washington Policy Center plans to reach out to more farmers and producers to assess the effects of the 2017 agricultural labor shortage.

The team also will continue to speak out on critical issues, such as improved water policies for rural farmers, the dissolution of piece rate pay, and the debate over the removal of Snake River dams, which could impact irrigation and a valuable trade route for local producers.

The Washington Policy Center is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, public policy research organization.

Though it’s been around for more than

20 years, the think tank established its agricultural research center in 2016, with the help of seed money provided by Pasco business owner Bob Tippett of The Tippett Co., a Pasco real estate brokerage and services firm.

The center’s agriculture initiative has more than doubled its annual budget since its inception, with $253,000 raised to date.

Its three-year goal is to raise $500,000.

“Ideas from WPC’s research centers are regularly implemented by voters and the Legislature,” said Chris Cargill, director for the center’s Eastern Washington office. He also said policy center officials appear in the media, on average, seven times a day in the state.

The Washington Policy Center’s new Tri-City satellite office is at 8905 W. Gage Blvd., Suite 100. An open house is planned in the spring.

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Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • February 2018

43

Popular Pasco bakery expands to third location in Yakima

BY DAVE LEDER

Yakima Valley Business Times

One of the Tri-Cities’ best-known bakeries soon will have a presence in Yakima.

Viera’s Bakery & Deli, with two locations in Pasco, could open as soon as March 1 at 516 W. Lincoln Ave., next to Cost Less Carpets and the Safeway fuel station.

The Viera family is working on a full remodel of the former convenience store, which has been vacant for about a year.

The 6,200-square-foot bakery/deli will offer traditional Mexican pastries, fresh bread, cakes, espresso, sandwiches and more.

A large seating area will create a casual coffee shop atmosphere, while the open layout will allow customers to observe what’s going on in the kitchen.

“People will be able to see their food being made, like you sometimes see at the grocery store,” said Mario Viera, whose parents, Manuel and Esther, opened their first Pasco Mario Viera bakery in 2002.

“We want people to see how clean and professional we are.

We take a lot of pride in that.”

Viera and his wife, Christina, will manage the Yakima locaChristina Viera tion, and at least one of them plans to be on site every day. Viera’s four siblings operate the two Pasco bakeries, though their parents are still actively involved in the business.

“Both of our Pasco locations are extremely successful, and we thought it was time to branch out,” said Mario Viera, who lives in Kennewick and has a career in sales. “My parents didn’t want to take it on because their plates are pretty full right now. But my wife and I decided that now was a good time for us to expand the business.”

Viera explained that many of their

regular customers live in the Yakima Valley, where the Hispanic population is larger than in the Tri-Cities.

The family had been talking about expanding to Yakima for a few years, but the circumstances didn’t line up until about six months ago.

Around that time, they discovered the Lincoln Avenue location, which is about one-third larger than the two Pasco bakeries. The building owner agreed to a five-year lease with a five-year option after that. If all goes according to plan, the Vieras will have an option to buy the property once the lease terms expire.

“Everything came together perfectly, and we are pretty sure the business is going to take off over there,” Viera said.

“We’ve gotten to know a lot of customers from Yakima over the years and they all say the same thing: ‘When are you going to open a store in Yakima?’ ” Both Pasco locations are about 4,000 square feet and they are “busting at the seams,” Viera said. The extra 2,200 square feet of space for the Yakima bakery will create a more open feel for their customers while also providing extra room for growth.

Also included in the lease is a lot behind the bakery that will be fenced off and used for storage. Limited outdoor seating also may be available someday.

Viera says he is going for a “retro, barnyard look” that will appeal to a range of clientele. While there is much work to be done in the next month, Viera said it won’t be long before the drab, vacant convenience store is bustling with activity.

“Our goal is to do something that no other Mexican bakery has done on this side of the mountains,” Viera said. “We want it to be clean, comfortable and relaxing. We see it becoming kind of a lunch spot, a place you would want to stay for a while.”

The deli sandwiches will be made with freshly baked bread, and Viera said a variety of homemade soups could be added to the menu soon.

They also plan to become a coffee destination, serving Treasure Valley Coffee products.

While the Vieras’ specialty is Mexican pastries, they are well-known around Pasco for their enormous “Homer Simpson doughnuts.”

Viera’s Bakery & Deli has built a strong reputation in the Tri-Cities for its Mexican pastries, doughnuts and fresh bread. The family will be opening its third location in Yakima in March. (Courtesy Yakima Valley Business Times)

“My dad has always believed that bigger is better, and there’s a great margin to be made in doughnuts, so you can make them as big as you want,” Viera said of his father, who has been baking his entire life and in the Tri-Cities since 1978.

The bakery will also offer a variety of cakes for all occasions, except for weddings.

Viera is certain that the desserts, coffee and lunch selections will catch on quickly and just as confident that the atmosphere will become a big draw for

his Yakima clientele.

Once the remodel is completed and all of the baking equipment arrives, the Vieras plan to hire a local crew of baristas, customer service reps and kitchen staff.

Two full-time bakers are being trained in Pasco this winter.

“We’re prepared to open whenever we can get everything done,” Viera said.

“Everything is on schedule right now, so we expect to start seeing customers in March.”

44

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • February 2018

Business Profile

Former employee runs two printing businesses under one roof Ron Morris buys BIG Print Shop, Digital Image Tri-Cities in 2017

BY JESSICA HOEFER

for Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business

Ron Morris spent decades learning the ins and outs of the printing world and within a span of six months last year, he bought two printing businesses, both of which he used to work at.

The tale of how he became the owner of Digital Image Tri-Cities in Richland and BIG Print Shop in Benton City began in 1994.

That’s when Morris joined Digital Image Tri-Cities, although he didn’t work on the printing side of the business when he started.

“I was intrigued by Digital Image because I love technology,” he said.

“They had the latest Mac computers, an amazing printer — a $250,000 race car of a printer that you could scan and edit on They were the cutting-edge of printing.”

The company’s 2950 George Washington Way location also operated a conference center and a restaurant, which is where Morris started out.

“I ran the restaurant,” he said. “We had 13 meeting rooms and a full-scale catering operation. A big operation.”

As the general manager of the restaurant, Morris became familiar with customer service and managing staff.

“I had a great rapport with the owners,” he said. “And we had weekly meetings. I was inquisitive about where we were spending money. It was intriguing to me.”

During his time at Digital Image TriCities, Morris said his bosses, Bob Davis and Grant McCallum, introduced him to the owners of BIG Print Shop in Benton City.

They all got along, and in 1998, BIG Print Shop asked Morris to interview for a position managing print production.

Morris jumped at the chance.

“They had a lot of large projects coming through from bigger marketing groups in California,” he said. “And in a short time, I became general manager.”

For 16 years, Morris absorbed all he could about printing technology and running a business. BIG Print Shop handled more large format jobs, such as trade show displays and outdoor banners.

Digital Image Tri-Cities handled a lot of small format jobs, including proposals, programs and brochures.

“It was a part of the business I wanted to learn, and knew I wasn’t going to at BIG Print Shop,” Morris said. “It was the one aspect of the printing industry that I hadn’t really experienced. And I knew there would be the potential to buy into the (Digital Image Tri-Cities) company.”

In February 2015, Morris returned to work for his former employer, and in July 2017, he became the sole owner.

“The day came when there was an opportunity for the owner to retire, and I was interested in taking over,” he said, explaining that along with money he had saved, he secured a business loan through Gesa Credit Union.

Morris made some cosmetic changes with paint and flooring. He also created a new entrance to grab potential clients’ attention when they walked in.

“And I added a lot Ron Morris bought two businesses — Digital Image Trimore large format Cities in Richland and BIG Print Shop in Benton City — printing from the within six months, merging his love of small format and experience I’d large format print production. gained at BIG Print Shop,” said Morris, who continued to maintain his friendship with his previous latex printers, which do outdoor graphics.”

Then in November 2017, Morris had employer. “Digital Image already had another opportunity. fantastic printers that are the race cars of uPRINTING, Page 46 small format printing. And I added my

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • February 2018

Business Profile

45

Benton City veterinary clinic under new ownership after 30 years Sunrise Vet Clinic’s new owner has plans for building, technology improvements

BY LAURA KOSTAD

for Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business

Sunrise Veterinary Clinic in Benton City kicked off the new year with a change of ownership, new hires and plans for several improvements.

Dr. Sharon Molton took over the 2,800-square-foot, full-service practice for companion animals and the active customer base of 2,000 on Dec. 28, 2017.

She’s lost no time in rolling out updates to the facility and its services.

“She’s really modernizing everything,” said former owner Dr. Carole A. Mylius, who bought Sunrise Veterinary Clinic in 1988 after working under the clinic’s founder for about three years.

Much to the delight of longtime customers, Molton retained Mylius’ support staff.

Katie Storm of Benton City has been bringing her pets to Sunrise for 25 years.

“The old staff is there … and the new staff is helpful and great, so I have no complaints. … I met Dr. Sharon, and she’s really nice, so I’ll continue to go to Sunrise Vet,” she said.

Molton also hired some new veterinary technicians, as well as the office manager from her previous practice in western Washington.

“Licensed veterinary techs are the equivalent of a human nurse; they do bloodwork, X-rays, client education, patient care and dental cleanings. They’re the go-to support staff,” Molton said.

In addition to a new digital X-ray machine and new software, Molton said modernization and improving the quality of care were at the forefront of her plans.

“The big thing is we’re offering very modern anesthesia and diagnostics and treatment capabilities while still being competitively priced, and so standard of care is the same as you would get in town.

“With additional staff, we can actually have a veterinary nurse monitoring anesthesia the whole time for dentistry and surgeries, just like in a human hospital,” she said.

Sunrise Veterinary Clinic is also now open on Fridays.

“It’s nice for the Hanford workers who can’t get in otherwise,” Molton said.

Located in a town of about 3,300 residents, the clinic draws in clients from a large region.

“We actually have more Tri-Cities customers than (those from) Benton City,” Molton said. “We also have customers from surrounding areas, like Prosser, Walla Walla, Hermiston and Burbank. They drive by other clinics to get here … we’re growing by 40 to 50 clients per month.”

Molton said it’s more than competitive pricing.

“We offer a small town, family-friendly atmosphere. We’re happy to see people and happy to see their pets. It’s more individualized care that you don’t get with bigger clinics,” she said.

Storm said it’s what’s kept her coming back: “(Dr. Mylius) didn’t gouge us — no frills — and I liked her staff. Costs were pretty much lower than in TriCities, and it was close and convenient.”

Mylius and Molton said it was good timing that brought on the change of ownership.

Sunrise Veterinary Clinic’s former owner, Dr. Carole A. Mylius, left, retired after more than 30 years of veterinary work. The new owner, Dr. Sharon Molton, right, took over the Benton City practice on Dec. 28. She has plenty of upgrades planned. (Courtesy Sunrise Veterinary Clinic)

Molton grew up in Kennewick, but moved to the west side of the state following her veterinary training to start a practice. After 11 years in the business, she decided it was time to move home.

“Sharon had contacted me five or six years ago, and was interested in buying

the practice, but I wasn’t financially ready to sell at that time,” Mylius said.

Molton went to work at Vista Veterinary Hospital in Kennewick. And Mylius later listed Sunrise through a brokerage, but there were no bites for a couple of years. uVET, Page 46

46

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • February 2018

VET, From page 45 “Out of the blue, (Sharon) called me again,” Mylius said. “I said, ‘Yes, I’m ready to sell,’ and we just went from there.”

“It’s been a great career,” Mylius said. “I really do appreciate this profession. I enjoyed the work immensely and all the people I was dealing with and I made friends with over the years. It’s just a wonderful profession.

“I started out when I was young, working on everything — cows, horses, pigs, calves and sheep. I was doing C-sections on cows, delivering calves in the field. Eventually, as the years went on and I got a little older, I decided to just work on the small animals.”

As for retirement plans, Mylius said, “I’m looking forward to having more time to ride horses, spend time with my grandkids and getting life organized at home.”

She just recently returned from her first retirement trip — a vacation to Hawaii — and is looking into remodeling her house.

“I just really appreciate the support and everything I’ve had over the years from the people who brought their animals to me,” she said.

As for Molton’s plans, she said, “We’re growing, so down the road we might be hiring a second doctor.

There’s a huge demand for a horse vet out here; maybe down the road.”

She also mentioned that she has

some ideas for renovating the exterior of the clinic. “But I’m only a month in, and I want to still be able to take care of our clients and pets.”

“The community has been very welcoming and it has been a great community to join. I think people are excited it’s still in business and by the upgrades … I think as we continue working on remodeling and staffing, it’s just going to be great,” Molton said.

Sunrise Veterinary Clinic can be reached at 509-588-6970 and online at sunrisevetclinic.com. It is open from 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. Phone hours from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

PRINTING, From page 44 “The owners of BIG Print Shop approached me and asked if I was interested in taking over the BIG Print Shop name or acquiring it in the business,” he explained. “So we relocated two of their staff people and we run the operation here as Digital Image Tri-Cities, but we’re serving those clients.”

While all of the retail customers come through the Digital Image name, a website is kept for BIG Print Shop— which Morris refers to as his corporate division.

“The BIG Print Shop has a relationship with Hewlett Packard, and the way I organized things as this all took place, is that BIG Print Shop still takes care of HP and some other big clients,” he said.

Morris has about 1,300 clients from a variety of business backgrounds.

Tradeshow needs are most common, he said, and those customers often request banner stands, brochures, rack cards and a unique display. And with the company’s proximity to the Tri-Cities Research District in north Richland — which includes Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, the Department of Energy, Port of Benton and Washington State University Tri-Cities — the nearby customer base is robust.

Digital Image Tri-Cities has completed various projects for WSU Tri-Cities and also serves the art community, designing and printing programs for the symphony, theater and music groups.

The company no longer operates a catering company or conference center, and now manages a 3,800-square-foot space in Suite C. Morris said he’s still working on the logistics of making sure business flows well from start to finish and isn’t hindered by space or equipment.

“That’s one goal I have for this next quarter: streamlining everything more,” he said. “We want that for our customers, but it’s important that my staff feel like, ‘Wow. This is a great place to work.’ ” Digital Image Tri-Cities has two fulltime and one part-time employee. Since Morris is still getting used to owning two businesses, he said he has no plans to expand. He does, however, hope to grow his customer base.

“I love new technology. I like to get the print industry magazines because there’s so much cutting-edge stuff coming out,” he said. “I’m trying to find out what not just meets my current customer (needs), but can I create a new line of business and reach new customers.”

Digital Image Tri-Cities: digitalimagetc.com; 509-375-6001; Facebook.

Send us your business news news@tcjournal.biz

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • February 2018 uBUSINESS BRIEFS Chamber wins award for economic gardening program

The Tri-City Regional Chamber of Commerce received an Outstanding Chamber Program Award for its Economic Gardening program.

The chamber received the award at the Western Association of Chamber Executives, or WACE, annual conference in Henderson, Nevada, on Feb. 6.

The awards recognize programs in the core competency areas of strengthening the local economy, promoting and improving the community, political action, representing interest of businesses with government, and/or networking and building business relationships.

Programs nominated for the award must be able to be replicated by other chambers.

The chamber’s economic gardening program is the first of its kind in the Pacific Northwest.

In partnership with the Edward Lowe Foundation, economic gardening provides regional second-stage businesses with guidance from the National Center of Economic Gardening’s National Strategic Research Team, a team of specialists from across the country who will deliver economic gardening services specifically tailored to each business.

The chamber received the award along with chambers from Tacoma; Irvine, California; Surprise, Arizona; and Fort Collins, Colorado.

BBB extends scholarship deadline to Feb. 27

The Better Business Bureau Northwest & Pacific is extending the application deadline for the 2018 Students of Integrity Scholarship.

The new deadline for applications is Feb. 27.

The BBB will award a $10,000 scholarship to a high school junior or senior in the region, which includes the states of Alaska, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington and Western Wyoming.

Students apply for the scholarship by creating a 90-second video demonstrating how BBB helps people become bet-

ter consumers.

Before submitting an application, students are advised to review the scholarship rules and regulations at go.bbb.org/scholarship-rulesregulations to make sure their application will meet the scholarship guidelines.

BBB has prepared a to-do list for students who would like to apply.

Finalists will be announced Feb. 28, with the recipient announced March 15.

For more information and to view the video made by 2017’s scholarship winner, visit go.bbb.org/nw-scholarship.

uHONORS & AWARDS • The Tri-City Association of Realtors has announced the winners of its 2017 annual awards: Realtor of the Year, Gayle Stack, owner of Everstar Gayle Stack Realty; Sunrise Award (for contributions to a better tomorrow for the community), Cathryn Tames, executive director of the Children’s Developmental Center; Realtor Community Service Award, Jed Morris of Windermere Group One Real Estate; Affiliate of the Year, Pat Doherty, manager of Cascade Title; Rookie of the Year, Londa Harpster of Windermere Group One Real Estate.

The association is an 800-plus member regional trade association of real estate professionals in southeastern Washington dedicated to the protection of private property rights.

• The Washington state Senate adopted a resolution to honor Kris Watkins, president and CEO of Visit Tri-Cities, who is retiring after 24 years.

During her career, Watkins Kris Watkins helped start the Washington State Tourism Commission, served on the Washington

Tourism Alliance Board of Directors and helped established community projects such as Three Rivers Convention Center and TRAC facility.

She also was awarded the 2009 Governor Smart Communities Award.

• Association of Washington State Principals named Cascade Elementary Principal Chad Foltz the Lake Wallula Regional Elementary Chad Foltz Principal of the Year, which covers 12 school districts in Benton, Franklin and Walla Walla counties.

47

Foltz began teaching at Horse Heaven Hills Middle School in 1995 and also served as assistant principal at Park Middle School. He will be the principal of Amon Creek Elementary when it opens in August 2018.

• Interwest Communications Corp. of Kennewick was named among the Inc. 5000 Fastest Growing Companies in America. The list highlights the fastest-growing privately-owned businesses showing the highest revenue growth over a three-year span. The company was ranked No. 1 telecom company in Washington, No. 57 overall in Washington and No. 27 among telecom companies in the U.S.

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Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • February 2018

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • February 2018

REAL ESTATE & CONSTRUCTION In This Section

49

Vandervert Construction placed in receivership to pay off debt

BY KEVIN BLOCKER & MIKE McLEAN Spokane Journal of Business

Real Estate & Construction

Chicago Title Co. plans move to new building Page 52

Construction News

Richland hotel kicks off remodel Page 53

Building Tri-Cities

Fuse SPC moves to The Parkway Page 54

Spokane-based general contractor Vandervert Construction Inc. is facing a financial crisis, and control of the company has been placed under receivership.

Law firm Davidson, Backman, Medeiros PLLC of Spokane was appointed to serve as the general receiver for Vandervert Construction to help the company pay off as much of its mounting debt as possible, according to a notice filed Feb. 2 in Spokane County Superior Court.

The purpose of a receivership is to preserve property of a person or entity pending distribution of receipts to creditors.

The company has done millions of dollars in business in the Tri-Cities. Recently completed projects include Panera Bread in Richland, Fred Meyer’s $12.4 million remodel in Richland and West Richland’s Roasters Coffee.

Projects under construction or pending in the Tri-Cities include renovation of the $3.2 million Columbia Community Church in Richland, a new $4.95 million Gensco warehouse in Kennewick and an $1.2 million Hallett Retail Center in Pasco.

Vandervert Construction’s corporate office is at 608 E. Holland, on Spokane’s North Side. At midmorning Feb. 5, the office’s doors were locked and the lights were off throughout most of the building. A lone pickup truck was in the parking lot on the building’s backside, and lights were on in an office on the building’s upper floor. How-

A Vandervert Construction trailer sits at 314 N. Wilson Place at Kennewick. The Spokane-based company is the general contractor for the $4.95 million Gensco warehouse planned at the site. The company was placed under receivership earlier this month to pay off mounting debt.

ever, nobody responded to knocks on the door.

The Spokane Journal of Business made several unsuccessful attempts to contact Vandervert Construction via phone and email. There was no answer at the company’s office phone number, and all calls were subsequently forwarded to a voicemail account.

Dick Vandervert founded Vandervert Construction Inc. in 1975 and sold the company seven years ago to Tim Stulc. He operates Vandervert Developments LLC, which does business as Vandervert Development & Hotels.

“I own 100 percent of development, and zero percent of construction. I’m a little sad

this is all happening. I’m sad that I sold the company,” Vandervert said in an interview with the Spokane Journal of Business on Feb. 5.

While Vandervert Construction’s Spokane headquarters was inactive Feb. 5, work continued on at least one of the company’s current major projects.

Vandervert Construction is the contractor on a Super 1 Foods supermarket project, which is being promoted as the anchor tenant for The Crossings, a new commercial development at the northeast corner of highways 95 and 54, in Athol, Idaho, about 20 miles north of Coeur d’Alene. uVANDERVERT, Page 51

Mustang Sign Group’s growth prompts plans for new building

BY AUDRA DISTIFENO

for Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business

Around Town

Carson College of Business fundraiser nets $37,000 Page 70

HE SAID IT “This area is prime for continued commercial growth with some of the highest visibility in the Tri-Cities as well as the rapid expansion of residential homes in the surrounding neighborhoods.”

- Dr. Craig Barney, co-owner of Kennewick Dental Page 57

Five years ago, Will and Lauran Wang bought Mustang Sign Group with the hope of slowly growing the company.

Little did they know their clientele would double, revenue would increase by six times and they’d be closing on 1.5 acres of land for a new headquarters within five years.

“Mustang’s growth has exceeded our expectations. It is funny looking back at our goals and our strategic plan,” Lauran said. “I remember every year telling my husband that there was no way we would be able to accomplish that. Surprisingly enough, every year, our amazing team makes it happen.”

The company expects to break ground on a 17,000-square-foot building within the next 60 days at 10379 W. Clearwater Ave. The company currently operates in 3,000 square feet of space at 8620 Gage Blvd., Suite A. in Kennewick. Once the new office is complete, Mustang Sign will occupy twice that space.

The new 6,000-square-foot building, estimated to cost $1.2 million, will include five upstairs offices and a 5,000-square-foot garage below, along with an additional 6,000

The Mustang Sign Group’s owners have bought land at 10379 W. Clearwater Ave. in Kennewick and expect to break ground on a 12,000-square-foot building within the next 60 days. From left are Production Manager Devin Nielsen, Sign Ninja Amos Williams and co-owner Lauren Wang.

square feet for another tenant to lease.

The extra space means individual offices for designers and project managers.

“It will also provide visiting clients with a better experience and private consultative meeting place. We will also have a large conference room and welcoming lobby for clients to sit in,” Lauran said. “Most impor-

tantly, it greatly expands our production capability, gives our employees some elbow room to do their jobs, and allows some room to keep adding equipment and technology.”

The Wangs are “hopeful” for a September completion date. uMUSTANG, Page 61

50

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • February 2018

REAL ESTATE & CONSTRUCTION

California-based company buys 6,000 acres of Walla Walla County land

BY TRI-CITIES AREA JOURNAL OF BUSINESS STAFF

A California-based company bought about 6,000 contiguous acres of land in the Walla Walla area in a nationwide auction.

Farmland LP, formed in 2009, manages more than 12,500 acres in Northern California and in Oregon’s Willamette Valley. Based in San Francisco, California, the company’s goal is to add value to farmland by converting it to organic, sustainable agriculture.

Ahead of the sale, industry experts boasted about the land’s optimal elevations, good drainage, gradual slopes, a remarkable soil profile and abundant permitted water rights, which make it ideally

suited for the development of permanent crops, such as wine grapes, apples, blueberries and hops.

The property is northwest of Touchet, straddling Highway 12, about 20 miles from Pasco.

“We appreciate the strong interest the Weidert Farm garnered from investors and local farmers,” said Steve Bruere, president of Peoples Company, a land brokerage, land management, land investment and appraisal firm based in Iowa. “Farmland LP’s commitment to sustainable agriculture and land management makes them an ideal buyer for this exceptional piece of property that has enormous potential.” uFARMLAND, Page 51

Farmland LP, a California-based sustainable farmland investment company, bought 6,000 acres in Walla Walla County in a nationwide auction. (Courtesy Peoples Company)

COTTONWOOD SELF STORAGE PHASE II 105106 WISER PARKWAY• KENNEWICK

Cottonwood Self Storage recently completed the second phase of its Kennewick self-storage facility at 105106 Wiser Parkway.

The second phase, which was scheduled to begin in spring 2017, added an additional 40,000 square feet of area for additional rental units, large indoor RV bays and indoor truck/car/toy and boat parking.

Cottonwood features a full integrated 24-hour

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kiosk with high-end security system installed by Advanced Protection Services. Customers also are able to see down every aisle from Wiser Parkway.

The facility has a 900-square-foot office.

The first phase of this project included 32,000 square feet, with a total of 211 rental unities and 50 outdoor designated RV parking spots.

Cottonwood Self Storage LLC partners are Jay and Amy Brantingham and Jerritt and Hailey Wise.

Adam Hall, general manager of CRF Metal

Works LLC, oversaw the project.

Jay Brantingham, owner of CRF Metal Works, was the designer of this project.

The growth of the housing and apartment markets in Badger Canyon and the surrounding area prompted the owners to build a facility to accommodate residents’ increasing storage needs.

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Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • February 2018

REAL ESTATE & CONSTRUCTION FARMLAND, From page 50 Bruere said that several competitive offers were submitted before the Nov. 10, 2017, deadline, but Farmland LP’s offer stood out. “A competitive offer is important, but Farmland LP’s vision for the property in the future is what set it apart from other interest,” he said.

The terms of the offer are not being released. The sale is expected to close in the months ahead.

The property is owned by Tim and Jennifer Weidert of Pendleton, Oregon.

More information about Farmland LP can be found at FarmlandLP.com.

VANDERVERT, From page 49 Ron McIntire, Super 1 Foods founder, said the project is still active.

“Almost everybody showed up for work this morning,” McIntire said.

“Our project is just a couple weeks until full completion.”

McIntire referred further questions to URM, the Spokane-based grocery distribution cooperative, which is overseeing the project.

Mike Winger, of URM, declined to comment on the project status and the Vandervert Construction situation.

Nathan Myers, a principal with IBEX Flooring LLC, said IBEX has a long relationship with Vandervert as a subcontractor and is seeking payment for services on certain Vandervert proj-

ects.

“It’s an unfortunate situation and will probably have ripple effects for subcontractors and property owners,” Myers said.

Myers said, however, the construction market remains strong.

“The economy, especially in the Spokane region, is in great shape,” he said. “It feels like an anomaly.”

“Hopefully that’s a blessing in terms of timing. Hopefully, others (subcontractors affected by the Vandervert situation) will benefit from the economy,” Myers said.

The receivership marks a reversal of circumstances for Vandervert Construction, which in late 2016 described itself as being in a steep growth mode.

51

The company had opened satellite offices in Bellevue and the Tri-Cities in recent years.

Vandervert reported $58.1 million in 2016 contract revenue, ranking the company ninth on the list of leading Spokane area contractors as published in the Spokane Journal of Business last June.

The company recently completed construction of the $11.8 million Courtyard Inn by Marriott in Pullman, and the $8 million My Fresh Basket grocery store in the Kendall Yards development northwest of downtown Spokane.

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business contributed to this report.

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Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • February 2018

REAL ESTATE & CONSTRUCTION

Construction to begin soon on Kennewick property with a view

BY LAURA KOSTAD

for Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business

A national tenant has signed a lease to move into a Kennewick office building featuring sweeping views. Construction begins next month.

The $2.8 million two-story building will feature 9,671 square feet of space and a daylight basement at 8009 W. Tucannon Ave. Chicago Title Co. of Washington plans to move into the new building near the Steptoe Street and Gage Boulevard intersection before the end of the year, when construction is expected to be complete.

“It’s tremendous to launch a new project anchored by a major national tenant,” said James Wade, realtor and commercial broker for the Kenmore Team of Kennewick.

Gary Duncan, vice president and Central Washington manager of Chicago Title Co. of Washington, is looking forward to moving into a bigger office.

“We’ve outgrown our footprint in the five years I’ve been here. It’s a growing operation and we want a nicer office and to take it up a notch. I’m excited about being able to step to the next level, not just for staff, but for our customers,” Duncan said.

Chicago Title’s employs 12 people at its Grandridge Boulevard location and seven at a title production center on Okanogan Boulevard.

The Kennewick office, which has had a decade-long presence in the Tri-Cities, provides services to Benton, Franklin, Grant, Adams counties.

Construction begins next month on a new $2.8 million two-story office building at 8009 W. Tucannon Ave., near the intersection of Steptoe Street and Gage Boulevard in Kennewick. Chicago Title Co. of Washington plans to move into the new building by the end of the year. (Courtesy Elite Construction & Development Group)

Duncan, who has been with the company for 28 years, said he’s excited about the central location and the office’s design.

“It’ll have a lot more open feel and natural light which will be great for people’s morale and energy levels. We’re the No. 1 title insurer in nation but you don’t feel that when I walk into that office. Our current office doesn’t convey the strength of the company and where we’re at in marketplace,” Duncan said.

Two more spaces are available for lease in the new building: a 2,000-square-foot daylight basement and the roughly 4,300-square-foot multi-story space.

Wade said the offices are well suited to professional office users, such as legal or financial firms and other professional services.

“It’s nice to do a quality project in a quality location with a quality developer and see it appreciated by the community,” he said.

Sitting just above Gage Boulevard, the upscale office building will offer sweeping views down the Steptoe grade to the Columbia River and beyond.

“If the first floor offers a great view, then the second floor is a stunning view,” Wade said.

“You have to have a lot of glass with a view like that,” said Trini Garibay, the site’s developer and co-owner of Elite Construction & Development Group.

Elite Construction & Development has been a part of numerous construction and remodel projects throughout Tri-Cities, including the remodel of the former

Country Gentleman restaurant, construction of Gold’s Gym in Richland, and contributions to the Benton County Fairgrounds and Port of Pasco’s Osprey Pointe Business Park.

Garibay said the Tucannon Avenue building will feature plenty of “open space” and “modern, contemporary lines.”

The lobby/common area on the main floor is comprised of two floors of open space.

On the second floor, hallways will be walled in with glass, which will serve the dual purpose of carrying through the open concept, as well as allowing light to shine in.

The building’s exterior will be distinctly modern, drawing on a variety of building materials to lend dimension and curb appeal, the developers said.

Garibay said these materials include more industrialized elements such as a concrete paneling system and metal accent pieces, along with more traditional materials like wood and stucco.

“A mixture of materials makes it that more visually interesting. Building aesthetics matter,” Wade said, explaining tenants feel a building’s exterior is what makes a great first impression on customers.

Visible signage and ample parking will be incorporated into the lot’s development, with parking on the uphill to accommodate the upper floor and on the lower level for the daylight basement offices. A total of 21 to 30 spaces are planned. uTUCANNON, Page 53

DAYTON GENERAL HOSPITAL 1012 S. THIRD STREET• DAYTON

The $5.5 million renovation project at Dayton General Hospital was completed Jan. 18.

The Columbia County Health System remodeled 24,000 square feet of the 48,000-square-foot hospital.

It was a publicly-funded project.

This enhancement and renovation project included 2,300 square feet of imaging space, which includes digital X-ray and a GE Lightspeed 64 CT scanner,

which are routinely used in emergency room diagnostics as well as outpatient studies.

Nearly 1,200 square feet of laboratory space also was remodeled.

The hospital is a 25-bed critical access hospital, with a Level V trauma designation, and a Level III stroke and cardiac center designation. It also provides primary care, long term care and outpatient services.

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Columbia County Health System added hyperbaric chambers to its Wound Care Center as part of the recent remodel. (Courtesy Columbia County Health System)

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Real Estate & Construction

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • February 2018

53

Richland’s Hampton by Hilton undergoing $750,000 remodel

BY LAURA KOSTAD

for Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business

The rooms of Richland’s Hampton by Hilton are undergoing their first complete overhaul in more than 10 years.

The first phase of the $750,000 remodeling project kicked off Dec. 14 with 44 rooms.

The work to remodel all 130 rooms is expected to be completed by May. “It’s going to look completely different,” said Melody Goller, assistant manager at Hampton by Hilton, formerly known as Hampton Inn. Goller said the remodeling work will be “floor to ceiling,” including all new flooring throughout the bathrooms, sleeping area and main area of the room.

Hampton by Hilton also will be saying good-bye to its rooms’ wallpaper.

Some of the king rooms’ bathrooms are being changed over to standup showers instead of the ubiquitous tub-shower combos.

All new furnishings — beds, couches, dressers — will complete the renovation.

“It’s just a modern twist on everything — very white, very clean and crisplooking,” Goller said.

Vandervert Construction of Spokane is the general contractor for the project.

“The hotel can’t afford to take all rooms out of commission at once, so we’re doing phases of 40 to 50 rooms at a time, including rooms currently just used for storage,” Goller said.

She said the last room renovation occurred about seven to eight years ago, when Hampton by Hilton traded out its furnishings for a fresh set.

Goller explained this is regular practice for the hotel chain.

“Because we are a Hilton brand hotel, we are required to do a 20-year project improvement plan toward updated, modern furnishings. It’s called their ‘Forever Young Initiative’ …(and is) required by Hilton to remain a Hilton-affiliated hotel,” she said.

Richland’s Hampton by Hilton was built in 1996.

Goller said at least a partial renovation

TUCANNON, From page 52 The lease price is $25 per squarefoot and offered as a triple net lease, or NNN, an agreement where the tenant agrees to pay all real estate taxes, building insurance and maintenance.

The lot where the new office building will go up is on nearly an acre. The building will occupy roughly half of the lot.

The Kenmore Team has plans for the other half of the lot, which the firm expects to announce soon.

“There’s going to be a cool outdoor space connecting the buildings,” Garibay said.

“It will be a landscaped open area — a communal space — great for coffee, where people can enjoy the view outside,” Wade added.

occurs every six to 10 years as a component of the improvement plan. Richland’s Hampton by Hilton’s lobby and meeting space underwent a remodel a few years ago.

“Our primary focus is the guest rooms … We love our location just off of the river and doing this update is going to help us improve our guest experience,” Goller said.

The Richland Hampton by Hilton will remain open during the remodel, though guests are advised that work on the remodel is underway from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Richland Hampton by Hilton, at 486 Bradley Blvd., can be reached at 509943-4400.

Hampton by Hilton General Manager Linda Hendricks, left, and Assistant Manager Melody Goller stand in front of the Richland hotel that is in the midst of a 130-room remodeling project. Work is expected to be complete by May.

54

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • February 2018

REAL ESTATE & CONSTRUCTION

FUSE SPC

723 THE PARKWAY• RICHLAND The growing Richland co-working community Fuse SPC moved to 723 The Parkway at the beginning of the year.

The move to the Richland Parkway creates more space for the social purpose corporation.

Fuse’s old George Washington Way building was 3,000 square feet and the new facility is 10,000 square feet.

Including the purchase price, renovation and indoor and exterior upgrades, the total project cost about $1.4 million The new Fuse building features seven offices on the first floor, a total of 15 offices throughout the building, an expanded podcast studio, a photo studio, two full kitchens, a shower room, and more space for the hot desk – a first-come, first-serve area for people using laptops for their businesses.

Hot desk membership starts at $120 a month, with discounts for students and educators.

The new space is described by Fuse officials as being like an urban loft in the heart of Richland with lots of natural light, Construction was completed Jan. 5 with

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full interior build-out completed Feb. 8.

Exterior renovations to be completed by spring. A grand opening will be in May. The building is a hub for entrepreneurs, startups, small businesses, tech firms, freelancers and remote workers. It’s a place to plug into a vibrant, collaborative community passionate about bringing new ideas and new businesses to the Tri-Cities.

Chervenell Construction Co. of Kennewick was the contractor. MMEC Architecture and Interiors of Kennewick was the architect.

The project was overseen by Prospere, Boost, Fuse and Paragon Equipment Management in collaboration with Chervenell. Paragon will maintain the facility.

Interior design was led by Jess Stangeland, local designer and Fuse’s community manager. Building furniture is from Steelcase.

More information is available at fusespc. com.

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • February 2018

REAL ESTATE & CONSTRUCTION

55

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56

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • February 2018

REAL ESTATE & CONSTRUCTION

Design West Architects moving into new space on Columbia Center Boulevard Idaho-based firm responsible for several recent public school projects

BY LAURA KOSTAD

for Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business

With the Tri-Cities’ dramatic uptick in new construction, Design West Architects of Kennewick has outgrown its current office, which opened less than eight years ago.

In January, Design West began renovating a second-floor space on the north side of the Plaza West complex at 830 N. Columbia Center Blvd. in Kennewick, across the street from Texas Roadhouse.

Brandon Wilm, who opened Design West’s Kennewick branch in 2010, said the new space “allows for a lot of growth,” at 3,390 square feet. The company’s current location at 7513 W. Kennewick Ave. is 2,100 square feet.

“It’s a great space, but we’ve never remodeled it. The new space will be tailored to our industry’s needs,” he said.

Design West’s new home is the former site of the India Palace Restaurant, which has been vacant for about five years, Wilm said.

Plaza West’s owner Crown Property Management “stripped it down to the bone. It’s been more than just standard (tenant improvements); we’ve put in all new mechanical and electrical systems,” Wilm said.

Wilm said Design West is financing the renovations “on our own dime to save money. The building owner is paying a portion and we’re paying a portion.”

Once the $275,000 in improvements are completed by Siefken & Sons Construction Inc. of Richland, Design West’s new office will feature a reception area, two conference rooms and a couple of offices, with about half of the suite devoted to studio space comprised of open work stations.

Plaza West also houses a Sprint cellular store, Defoe-Pickett Law Office, Lydig Construction and Summit Physical Therapy.

Wilm said Boise, Idaho-based Design West has been doing work in Tri-Cities since 2004. In commuting weekly from the company’s Pullman location between 2006-08, Wilm said he saw there was enough work and projects on the horizon to justify opening a Tri-City office.

“We’ve been very fortunate,” he said.

“When we came, it was just myself and one intern architect. We weathered the recession storm and keep gaining steam.”

Design West started in Boise 35 years ago, and now operates four offices throughout the Northwest in Kennewick, Pullman, Ontario, Oregon, and Meridian,

Boise-based Design West Architects is moving into a larger office currently under renovation at 830 N. Columbia Center Blvd. in Kennewick. Brandon Wilm, who opened the branch in 2010, anticipates Design West will be settled into the new workplace by the end of March.

Idaho. Wilm said the company employs 36 people, with seven working out of the Kennewick office.

A lot of Design West’s most recent work in the Tri-Cities has been public school construction, including the new Desert Hills and Chinook middle schools in Kennewick, the new Delta High School in Pasco and Leona Libby Middle School in West Richland.

The company also serves municipal and commercial clients.

“I think (the Tri-Cities) is a great place to be. We’re happy to be here,” Wilm said.

He said a grand opening ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new office will be in the spring.

The owner of Design West’s current building has not yet begun advertising the space, and there’s no word yet on what will be moving into it.

WEST PASCO EYE CARE 4802 CLEMENTE LANE• PASCO

West Pasco Eye Care recently completed construction on a new two-story clinic at 4802 Clemente Lane in Pasco after outgrowing its current office space.

Patients may notice the new name — it was formerly called Bullock Eye Care.

The 5,000-square-foot building features exam rooms, testing rooms, a waiting area and an opti-

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cal area on the first floor with billing and administrative offices upstairs.

The $1.4 million building, land included, was finished Jan. 31. It’s near the corner of Burden Boulevard and Clemente Lane, just down the street from the Burden Road clinic.

Optometrists Drs. Geoffery Bullock and Aric Robertson provide routine and emergency eye care.

BMB Development Inc. of Kennewick was the general contractor.

Jeff Flowers of Big River Drafting, Design and Consulting LLC in Pasco was the designer.

The team tried to give the new office a rustic, relaxed feel all the way through the building with more efficient patient movement through the entire clinic.

Space may be rented on the second floor but leasing prices have yet to be determined.

Call 509-543-9898 for more information.

Real Estate & Construction

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • February 2018

57

Kennewick Dental, Desert Winds Wireless team up on new business center $2.7 million Amon Hills Business Center will offer two suites for lease

BY LAURA KOSTAD

for Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business

New lease space will hit the market along Clearwater Avenue on the rapidly developing western edge of Kennewick.

Construction on the 10,808-square-foot Amon Hills Business Center is underway and expected to finish by May or June.

“This area is prime for continued commercial growth with some of the highest visibility in the Tri-Cities as well as the rapid expansion of residential homes in the surrounding neighborhoods,” said Dr. Craig Barney, co-owner of the building and Kennewick Dental.

Along with co-owner dentist Dr. Nathan Madder and Dustin Decoria, owner of Desert Winds Wireless internet provider, the three decided to go in together on a new building that would serve as the new home of their respective businesses. Both have outgrown their current spaces.

But how does an internet provider and a dental office find themselves teaming up?

“We’re family friends,” said Decoria, who said the trio found themselves discussing the same desires for their ongoing business growth. “We’re excited to get into more space and more room in a nice location.”

The new $2.7 million business center is on the front corner of a 1.5-acre lot at the intersection of Utah Street and West Clearwater Avenue. Construction of the complex is co-contracted with APC Construction and Urban Street Builders, both of Kennewick.

Barney said the building is of “a stylish contemporary design, using the corner of Clearwater and Utah as a focal point. To highlight that emphasis, we will be using stacked rock features and pergolas to provide detail on the outside of the building and additional shading/ privacy for the interior.”

Kennewick Dental will take up 5,318 square feet, while Desert Winds will be in about 2,000 square-feet, both about doubling their current spaces. The remaining 3,500 square feet will be divided into two 1,750-square-foot suites for lease.

Barney said the rent for those spaces is $24 per square-foot and that there has already been some interest.

Within the next couple of years, the owners plan to build another 6,250 square-foot building, comprised of up to four lease spaces, on the opposite back corner of the lot.

“Part of the need for us is expanding fiber (optics) into the home; we’re talking really, really fast internet,” Decoria said. He said Desert Winds is expanding

The owners of Kennewick Dental and Desert Winds Wireless have teamed up to build a business center at 9501 W. Clearwater Ave. in Kennewick. It’s called Amon Hills Business Center and is expected to be complete this summer.

fast as it aims to put fiber in all the new housing developments spreading across Kennewick.

Though Decoria has already hired new staff to accommodate demand, he said, “As the project expands, undoubtedly I will be hiring more.”

Desert Winds Wireless leases its current location at 6855 W. Clearwater Ave., Suite M, in Kennewick. A new tenant has already signed for the space but has not yet been disclosed.

Barney said the new Kennewick Dental office will have the capacity for 11 dental operatories, with nine completed and ready for use at opening. He said the clinic will be hiring, but will grow into the space gradually as business continues to expand.

Its current 2,221-square-foot space at 7233 W. Deschutes Ave., Suite E, in Kennewick has been purchased by Josh Brooks, owner of Columbia Basin Denture Care.

Since all existing furniture and equipment was sold with their current space as a package deal, Kennewick Dental will have all new “state-of-the-art equipment including intra-oral CT scans (cone beam), digital imprisoning scanners and even dental chairs with patient controls for heat and massage functions,” Barney said.

Decoria said the businesses will hold a grand opening in June or July.

For leasing information, call Barney at 509-492-1822.

58

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • February 2018

uNEW HIRES

From left: Jamin Clark, Julie Rogers and Sandy Loosveldt

• Jamin Clark, Julie Rogers and Sandy Loosvelt have joined Community First Bank as part of its mortgage team. The team, led by Clark, has more than 60 years combined experience. Clark, senior vice president and mortgage department

REAL ESTATE & CONSTRUCTION

manager, was born and raised in the TriCities. Community First Bank is the only locally-owned bank in the Tri-Cities, offering home mortgage, construction loans, refinancing, conventional, FHA and VA loans, as well as jumbo and investment loans.

• Jean Petersen has joined Nilson & Oord PLLC of Richland. Petersen was formerly with H&R Block for 13 years as a tax professional preparing tax returns for individuals and businesses in the TriCities.

• Bobby Egeberg has been hired to provide project engineering support at Meier Architecture — Engineering in Kennewick. Egeberg has a bachelor’s in environmental engineering and a master’s in civil and environmental engineering.

• Clay Hill has been hired by the

Association of Washington Business to join its government affairs team as a tax policy expert. Hill has worked with the House Republican Caucus as a policy analyst from 2013-17 and has a legal work history as criminal defense attorney and a deputy prosecutor.

• Jared Haff has been hired as a bond specialist for Basin Pacific Insurance & Benefits in Kennewick. He has been working in insurance Jared Haff since 2005.

• Washington State University has named André-Denis Girad Wright as the new dean for its

College of Agricultural, Human and Natural Resource Sciences. He currently is the director of the School of Comparative Biomedical Sciences at the University of Arizona. He will begin his role at WSU on June 1.

• Angie FurubottenLaRosee, a certified financial planner, has launched a new firm, Avea Financial Planning LLC. Angie FurubottenFurubottenLaRosee LaRosee has been a CFP for seven years. The firm operates out of Richland’s co-working space, Fuse SPC.

COLUMBIA GARDENS URBAN WINE AND ARTISAN VILLAGE 421 E. COLUMBIA DRIVE• KENNEWICK

Located on nearly six acres adjacent to Clover Island and the Columbia River in historic downtown Kennewick, the Port of Kennewick and city of Kennewick created the Columbia Gardens Urban Wine and Artisan Village to transform a long-neglected

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waterfront into a pedestrian-friendly, regional waterfront gathering place.

The city built a paved, public trail alongside Duffy’s Pond, an urban watchable wildlife area, creating a scenic connection from the wine village to the Sacagawea Heritage Trail and Clover Island Riverwalk. The city also added new sidewalks, accent lighting, decorative streetlights, a transit bus stop pullout and landscaping to Columbia Drive, and a new wastewater system to provide winery waste-water treatment for up to 50,000 cases a year.

The port acquired the land, cleared the industrial buildings and built the first wine production and tasting room buildings at 421 E. Columbia Drive. They are now home to two boutique production wineries with tasting rooms and patios overlooking the waterfront: Bartholomew Winery, Building B, and Monarcha Winery, Building A140.

Bartholomew Winery opened Dec. 9 and Monarcha Winery is expected to open in March.

Multiple contractors were used (and they used many subcontractors) in different phases of the development.

The city’s main contractors were POW Contracting of Pasco for the Duffy’s Pond path improvements; 2F Enterprises of Kennewick for the Columbia Drive streetscape work; and Shoemaker Excavation of Finley

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for the Columbia Gardens Pretreatment Plant.

Port of Kennewick contractors were Integrated Structures Inc./principal Gary Black out of California for pattern-language planning and initial architecture and engineering; Terence L. Thornhill Architect Inc. of Pasco and Meier Architecture Engineering of Kennewick for final architecture and engineering, construction-design and engineering for the first phase buildings; Strategic Construction Management of Pasco for phase one construction management; Big D’s Construction of Tri-Cities, Inc. for undergrounding utilities and site prep; and Banlin Construction of Kennewick for constructing the three buildings, parking and wall.

The port hired David Robison of Strategic Construction Management Inc. as its construction project manager.

In spring 2018, the port, city and Benton County will begin the second phase of construction, adding artwork, a bus shelter, more parking and shovel-ready parcels for additional private-sector development — including a winery tasting room, a food truck cluster and a public plaza overlooking the waterfront.

For information about leasing or general information, contact Amber Hanchette, the port’s director of real estate and operations at 509-586-1186.

Congratulations Columbia Gardens Urban Wine and Artisan Village!

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Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • February 2018

REAL ESTATE & CONSTRUCTION uNEW HIRES • Amanda Jones joined Community First Bank’s Commercial lending team as vice president of commercial lender in January. With more than a decade in banking, her experAmanda Jones tise and focus includes working with contractors, real estate investors and high net worth clientele with numerous business interests, as well as engineering, medical and other professional service providers.

uCERTIFICATIONS • Kennewick School District teachers who have earned National Board Certification are: Christopher Becker, Hawthorne Elementary; Shannon Burleyson, Kennewick High School; Luke Clemmens, Kennewick High School; Rama Devagupta, Southridge High School; Amy Francis, Chinook Middle School; Sara Glenn, Kennewick High School; Anne Gowdy, Westgate Elementary; Amanda Haan, Westgate Elementary; Megan Hagihara, Cascade Elementary; Jennifer Hedges, Kennewick High School; Amy Jennings, Vista Elementary; Ngan Le, Highlands Middle School; Matthew Luttrell, Kamiakin High School;

Megan McGrath, Kamiakin High School; Chenoa Meagher, Sage Crest Elementary; Lisa Page, Southridge High School; Megan Palmer, Washington Elementary; Erin Patterson, Eastgate Elementary; Elida Rodriguez, Southridge High School; Brandee Veitenheimer, Kamiakin High School; and Judy Walker, Special Services.

• Nuclear Care Partners has received accreditation from the Accreditation Commission for Health Care. Nuclear Care Partners is a medical provider serving former Department of Energy workers who have been diagnosed with work-related illnesses and provides no-cost in-home medical benefits.

59

uDONATION • ARES Corp. employees donated $7,200 to the Richland Firefighters Community Fund to help the group offset the loss from its annual Christmas tree sales which were affected by increasing tree costs and decreasing tree quality. The Richland company held its 13th annual Charity Auction on Jan. 19 at the Red Lion in Kennewick.

Each year, the ARES employees choose a local charity to donate to. This annual event is held in conjunction with the ARES Employee Recognition Banquet.

In the 13 years that ARES has been holding the event, it has raised and donated more than $82,000 to local charities.

(Courtesy Port of Kennewick)

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60

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • February 2018

Real Estate & Construction

Salvation Army shelves plans for building new Pasco center Salvation Army Capt. Jesus Quintanilla and his wife Lt. Adriana Quintanilla run the Pasco branch. The couple said they halted plans to build a new community and social services center after struggling to raise money for the project.

(Courtesy Pasco Salvation Army)

BY LAURA KOSTAD

for Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business

It’s back to the drawing board on plans for the Salvation Army’s new community and social services center.

The Pasco branch of the international charity recently took down its sign on a vacant lot on Lewis Street in Pasco, between 18th and 20th streets, as it prepares to regroup.

Capt. Jesus Quintanilla, executive director for the Pasco temple, said the organization has struggled to raise the $3.5 million required to get the project moving forward.

The new facility would include two to three buildings for a shelter, gymna-

sium and church, and would be the new home for the Pasco nonprofit.

Quintanilla, who runs it with his wife, Adriana, said they aren’t giving up.

A new advisory board comprised of community members will be meeting for the first time this month to identify the community’s wants and needs related to a new center.

One of the primary goals of the meeting will be to establish a committee to strategize fundraising efforts in the community, where the Salvation Army prefers to raise money for branch projects.

Previous mailed appeals to local donors regarding the new center went largely unanswered.

“The money is out there,” Quintanilla said. “But we need more exposure to local businesses.”

The Salvation Army, which provides free services to those in need, requires the help of community partners at all levels — businesses, organizations, and individuals — to step forward and support the project, Quintanilla said.

All donations are tax-deductible.

Founded in England in 1865, the Salvation Army provides a range of services for impoverished and disadvantaged people.

Programs offered in Pasco include food pantry and meal programs (administered at the temple and in-home), drug addiction rehabilitation, after-school programs and homework help for youth, housing assistance, emergency shelter, supplemental utility and rent payments, employment assistance, and a variety of church services.

The vision for the new center was conceived in 2008 as the renovation needs of the charity’s existing, aging facilities were identified. In 2012, the Lewis Street property was acquired.

Almost 10 years since the need for a new facility was established, the Pasco Salvation Army is placing the project on another 10-year timeline, shifting its immediate focus on the preservation of their current spaces.

“Our social service office we’re planning on restoring to get 10 more years out of … we’re trying to keep our church building stable too,” Quintanilla said.

Quintanilla said the agency might even be forced to sell the Lewis Street property until more definite plans can be developed for the new community and social services center.

For more information on how to get involved, contact the Pasco Salvation Army temple at 509-547-2138, email jesus.quintanilla@usw.salvationarmy. org, or visit 303 W. Clark St. in Pasco.

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Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • February 2018

REAL ESTATE & CONSTRUCTION MUSTANG, From page 49 Mustang Sign Group was established in 2007. The Wangs bought it from the original owners in 2012 and worked out of a 1,500-square-foot garage with a total of two employees. Today, they employ 10 full-time staff members.

The two are partners in the business, with Lauran working daily as project manager and her husband helping to support the business. Though the two “tag-teamed administrative tasks” in the beginning, Will is president of HFG Trust, which now takes up most of his time.

“I have developed some strong and positive relationships over the years working with other business owners in our community, and I remain very much on the ground floor working with them every day to fulfill their branding and signage needs,” Lauran said. “It’s really the part of the business that I have a great passion for.”

When the couple first took over management, Mustang Signs served between 100 and 200 businesses, a number that has increased to more than 400 in the Tri-Cities, Walla Walla, Sunnyside, Yakima, Prosser and northeastern Oregon.

“This growth has reflected in our revenue as we started the first year with $200,000 and we’ve expanded to six times that today,” Lauran said. “We estimate growth of revenue of at least 20 percent this year and hope to maintain this for the next few years.”

Lauran credited the success to be “strategic and a little lucky” in adding services and specialties conducive to growth.

The increase in clients brought with it the necessity for more space. Expanding into a larger facility wasn’t a conscious choice, Lauran said.

“We outgrew our existing space and could no longer fit all of the printing equipment, production space and garage space for the vehicles that were coming in last year,” Lauran said. “We wanted to maintain easy access for our clients and continue building on the unique brand that we have established, so building a Mustang building seemed like the logical choice.”

The full-service creative company is focused on signage — custom, electrical and banners — vehicle wraps, sign installations and print production and

specializes in myriad styles of interior and exterior signs, LED message centers, window graphics, wall and floor graphics and custom trade show displays. The company also offers sign repair and maintenance services.

Two more employees will be phased in over the next six months as part of the business’ expansion.

“We are well staffed right now. It is far more important for us to add the right people than the quantity of people. We currently have designers joining our team with diverse backgrounds,” Lauran said.

Traditional print designers, along with those versed in structural and 3-D design, make a well-rounded team, Lauran said.

“With the direction of our business, it is time we bring our designs to life and that is a unique skill set to have,” she said.

“The worst thing a business can do while it’s growing is to forget what got them there, and we have always hung our hats on providing a world-class client experience and industry expertise,” Lauran said. “The only way we can do this is by adding talented and driven staff, as we are always looking for people who want to join a growing business, but it is so important that their core values align with the business and our clients.”

Lauran credits her staff for the company’s growth.

“We’re really blessed to have found the staff that we did, and because they do such a great job taking care of our cli-

ents, people come back. I think this says a lot about our community and our area, that there is loyalty and people care about other people,” she said.

The biggest challenge the business owner faces is time demands and building the right team “so the business doesn’t continue to consume your life.”

“We have two children that are under the age of 3, so we want to make sure we don’t sacrifice their childhoods too much and miss everything,” she said.

The biggest reward is seeing clients’ happiness at the finished products, she said.

“We take a lot of pride taking care of people within our building — both employees and clients. In many ways, seeing the business grow has been like watching your own children grow up,” Lauran said. “It is definitely rewarding building something spectacular, as my husband would say.”

Her long-term vision is to continue expanding and begin manufacturing and fabricating signage in-house, which she considers “very close,” especially with the benefit of a larger facility.

“We are in the business of signs, but the business really comes from people and the relationships we’ve built over the years. We look forward to many more years serving the business community,” Lauran said. “My husband has a great quote that he stole from Warren Buffet: ‘It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you’ll do things differently.’ We truly believe this.”

uGRANTS • The Kadlec Auxiliary recently committed $275,000 in support of several programs and services, including: Kadlec Academy; Kadlec Auxiliary Mammogram Assistance Program; Kadlec Neurological Resource Library materials; the Northwest Autism Conference; the Community Health Transmitter newsletter; and suicide prevention programs. In December, the auxiliary pledged $750,000 over five years to the Kadlec Foundation for operations of Kadlec’s Healthy Ages program.

• Efforts to educate and inspire Mid-Columbia students about careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM)-related fields received a $40,000 boost from Washington River Protection Solutions.

Company President Mark Lindholm made the donation to the Washington State STEM Education Foundation at its January board meeting. Much of the money will be used to expand a successful “STEM Like Me!” program. WRPS has contributed $105,000 to the Foundation over the last three years.

FOR LEASE - Brantingham Business Park Phase II 3025 Travel Plaza Way, Pasco

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Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • February 2018

AWB’s annual data guide highlights Washington’s successes, opportunities

BY KRIS JOHNSON

for Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business

A 12,000-square-foot expansion of Prosser’s Chukar Cherry Co. on Wine Country Road will be completed by August. (Courtesy Port of Benton)

Chukar Cherry Co. to undergo $1.8 million expansion

BY TRI-CITIES AREA JOURNAL OF BUSINESS STAFF

Prosser’s Chukar Cherry Co. soon will begin construction on a $1.8 million, 12,000-square-foot production facility, an expansion that will double its space.

The new building will allow Chukar to host tours, create much needed office space and house all activities under one roof.

“We are bursting at the seams in our current space and can’t wait to have some room to grow in the new building” said Pam Montgomery, owner and founder, in a release.

Chukar Cherry Co. crafts dried cherries, chocolate confections and cherry sauces featuring locally-grown produce.

The company’s expansion needs come with the addition of new business lines.

Chukar currently leases more than 16,440 square feet on two acres of land from the Port of Benton near the Prosser Airport on Wine County Road.

The expansion will take place within the same area, adjacent to the current building.

Chukar maintains primary production at their flagship location on Wine Country Road while also occupying a second 2,400-square-foot space in the port’s Wine and Food Park.

The Wine Country Road location hosts all confection creation, production, sorting, packaging and business activities.

The food park store is dedicated to the newly released line of bakery items and serves as a secondary retail location.

Chukar Cherry employs 55 full-time equivalent workers. Five to 10 new jobs will be created with the expansion.

During the production season, the company’s numbers swell to 150 employees, which is expected to grow with the expansion.

“We are pleased to see the growth and success of their company,” said Scott Keller, executive director for the port.

A grant recently provided by the Hanford Area Economic Investment Fund for $100,000 will be used to support the project.

Banlin Construction of Kennewick will oversee construction and the building is scheduled to be completed late August.

Trying to reach seniors?

Washington’s economy is the envy of many states across the country. Job growth in our urban areas is booming and cranes pepper the Seattle and Bellevue skylines.

All that points to a robust statewide economy today and into the future. Or, does it?

Each year, the Association of Washington Business, or AWB, digs deeper into the state’s economy and competitiveness, going beyond the headlines and accolades from outside groups, to determine where Washington can improve and harness opportunities for growth.

AWB’s 2018 Competitiveness Redbook, released last month, is a datadriven guide to Washington state’s economic health that uses comparisons – 59 tables in all – with other states to benchmark performance in key indicators.

One important indicator is job growth. The latest numbers show job growth remains a strength, with nearly 80,000 new jobs added over the past year. Looking deeper, however, that’s actually 21,000 fewer jobs than the previous year, dropping our state down one spot to sixth in the nation.

Another positive sign of economic strength is the state’s gross domestic product (GDP). Washington jumped up six places over the previous year and now ranks No. 1 in the annual percentage growth in state GDP. However, the data also shows room for improvement, noting Washington remains 14th overall nationally for total GDP in current dollars.

There are plenty of positive economic indicators – a robust economy, job creation along the Interstate 5 corridor and growing tax collections to fund K-12 education and other critical services.

Buffering that is data that show room for improvement in the state’s overall competitiveness, particularly regarding the cost of doing business.

Washington is a relatively high-cost state for employers. Businesses pay

57.6 percent of all state and local taxes. In addition, our state continues to be a leader in the cost for unemployment insurance taxes, ranking No. 10 in the nation.

Kris Johnson We also retained Association of the top spot in Washington Business workers’ compensation benefit costs at $788.62 per covered employee, nearly double the national average.

Our state also continues to have one of the highest minimum wages in the country, placing No. 2 behind Massachusetts.

Educational attainment is also an area where Washington can improve.

Washington fell in the rankings in high school graduation, to 16th, and had no change in the number of bachelor’s and advanced degrees awarded. In a state with a growing need for a skilled workforce that has at least some level of post-secondary education, this is one area where we can and should improve.

We can and should take pride in the many national rankings. For example: CNBC’s annual ranking places Washington state at the top of states to do business. The lack of a state income tax plays into that ranking and the many others that are announced each year by Forbes and others.

Washington boasts some of the best research universities, it’s a hub of hightech manufacturing and it is one of the cleanest and greenest places to live, work and raise a family.

However, to ensure that Washington retains all of its positive attributes, we must constantly work on and improve areas the data how hold us back from our full economic potential.

Kris Johnson is the president of the Association of Washington Business, the state’s chamber of commerce and designated manufacturing association.

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Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • February 2018

PUBLIC RECORD uBANKRUPTCIES Bankruptcies are filed under the following chapter headings: Chapter 7 — Straight Bankruptcy: debtor gives up non-exempt property and debt is charged.

Chapter 11 — Allows companies and individuals to restructure debts to repay them.

Chapter 12 — Allows family farmers or fishermen to restructure finances to avoid liquidation for foreclosure.

Chapter 13 — Plan is devised by the individual to pay a percentage of debt based on ability to pay. All disposable income must be used to pay debts.

Information provided by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Spokane.

CHAPTER 7 Nanci L. Warner, 2407 Michael Ave., Richland.

Zachary J. and Nickey E. Aalgaard, 4515 Arabian Lane, Pasco.

Paz Barraza, 315 N. Second Ave, Pasco.

Leslie Z. Hughes, 88536 Summitview Drive, Kennewick.

Gordon S. and Jennifer R. Key, 1602 Mahan Ave., Richland.

Amy Bryant, 8807 W. Bonnie Ave., Kennewick.

Heriberto M. Hernandez, 8320 Russell Road, Mesa.

Cindy L. Adams, 802 W. 23rd Place, Kennewick.

Sergio and Lorena Jimenez, 404 N. Sycamore Ave., Pasco.

Conrado Hernandez, PO Box 1222, Prosser.

Tiffani M. Brook, 6832 W. Second Ave., Kennewick.

Mario O. Velazquez, 7617 W. Court St., Pasco.

Maria T. Garcia, 303 E. Sixth Ave., Kennewick.

Gilbert Orosco, 53 Canyon St., Richland.

Daniel L. and Christine A. Mayhugh, 510 S. Johnson St., Kennewick.

Felipe G. Espindola, 9011 Jersey Drive, Pasco.

Joshua W. and Kelsie N. Burger, 72502 W. 207 PRNW, Prosser.

Carrie J. Casey, 1500 W. 27th Place, Kennewick.

Derrick G. McBride and Maria I. T. Tovar, 260 Wilder Road, Kahlotus.

Justin K. and Barbara L. Klug, 8801 St. Thomas Drive, Pasco.

Pedro R. Diaz, 4704 Santa Fe Lane, Pasco.

Joshua A. and Rebbecca L. Wood, 367 Cottonwood Drive, Richland.

Madelin I. Marichal, 415 W. Sylvester St., Pasco.

Adalynn Guzman, 9108 Jersey Drive, Pasco.

Adrian and Amanda Brown, 4114 W. Kennewick Ave., Kennewick.

Diana L. Ramos, 217004 E. Bryson Brown Road, Kennewick.

Nicolas D. and Maria B. Gamez, 1 Wildflower Court, Pasco.

Gerald L. Wilson, 1908 N. Road 44, Pasco.

Michael R. Cordy, 5426 N. Road 68, Pasco.

Dana A. Baldwin, 3316 Calder Land, Pasco.

Debora L. Andrews, PO Box 5216, Kennewick.

CHAPTER 13 Jesus and Jennifer Verduzco, 2606 Ficus Drive, West Richland.

Joseph S. and Jaime N. Picker, 3701 S. Highlands Blvd., West Richland.

Raymond C. Brandenburg, 1807 W. 24th Ave., Kennewick.

Danue C. Helmuth, 10305 Chapel Hill Blvd., Pasco.

uTOP PROPERTIES

Top property values listed start at $500,000 and have been rounded to the nearest hundred figure.

BENTON COUNTY 1348 White Bluffs St., Richland, 2,521-square-foot, single-family

63

home. Price: $629,000. Buyer: Dustin & Jennifer Gillespie. Seller: Anthony & Crystal Burdo.

512 N. Young St., Kennewick, 19,674-square-foot, commercial building on 2.3 acres. Price: $1,256,700. Buyer: Cboms Building.

Sellers: Jonathan & Cheri Crawford, Ronald & Lisa Marsh, Todd & Holly Cooper.

1652 Meadow Hills Drive, Richland, 2,408-square-foot, singlefamily home. Price: $565,000. Buyer: Jeremy & Tabitha Lustig. Seller: Animesh & Madhu Sahai.

600 Gage Blvd., Richland, 4,613-square-foot, commercial building on 0.61 acres. Price: $1,150,000.

Buyer: Jonathan & Cheri Crawford.

Seller: Jung & Eun Choi.

72602 Sundown PRSE, Kennewick, 5,298-square-foot, single-family home on 5.13 acres. Price: $915,000. Buyer: Crystal & Anthony Burdo. Seller: Kevin & Kathryn Gurney.

17232 S. Fairview Loop, Kennewick, 2,333-square-foot, single-family home on 0.52 acres. Price: $705,000. Buyer: Anthony Smith & Lisa Grekowicz. Seller: Chad & Stefani Wilcott. uPUBLIC RECORD, Page 64

64

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • February 2018

PUBLIC RECORD, From page 63 84506 E. Wallowa Road, Kennewick, 0.57 acres of undeveloped land. Price: $500,600. Buyer: Travis & Melissa Street. Seller: Hammerstrom Construction.

2290 Keene Road, Richland, 2.07 acres of commercial land. Price: $722,000. Buyer: Washington Securities & Investment Corp. Seller: Navjot Khurana.

Undisclosed location, 2.07 acres of commercial land. Price: $700,000.

Buyer: MD Land. Seller: Cynergy Enterprises.

1915 Sheridan Place, Richland, 3,216-square-foot, single-family home on 0.51 acres. Price: $700,000. Buyer: Nathan & Angela Croskrey. Seller: Norman & Janice

Englehard.

3600 E. Lattin Road, West Richland, 3,020-square-foot, singlefamily home on 1.39 acres. Price: $512,500. Buyer: Ryan & Elizabeth Conrad. Seller: Theodore & Beverley Taylor.

83504 E. Wallowa Road, Kennewick, 0.54 acres of undeveloped land. Price: $512,000. Buyer: Michael & Lynn Jeka. Seller: Dennis Sawby Construction.

525 Ferrara Lane, Richland, 0.70 acres of undeveloped land. Price: $538,300. Buyer: Man Minh Lam. Seller: Prodigy Homes.

85404 E. Sagebrush Road, Kennewick, 0.67 acres of undeveloped land. Price: $625,000. Buyer: Shane & Traci Schmidt. Seller: Dennis Sawby Construction.

1600 Sicily Lane, Richland, 2,947-square-foot, single-family home. Price: $585,000. Buyer: Richard & Joy Holmes. Seller: Michael & Beatrice Costas.

1470 Badger Mountain Loop, Richland, 2,168-square-foot, singlefamily home. Price: $540,000. Buyer: Abhishek Somani & Dimple-Ben Patel. Seller: James & Mary McCormick-Barger.

82943 E. Reata Road, Kennewick, 2,986-square-foot, single-family home on 1 acre. Price: $512,500.

Buyer: Jamie & Roy Haren. Seller: Ricky & Angie Goddard.

4624 W. 10th Ave., Kennewick, 23,892-square-foot, commercial building on 9.6 acres of commercial land. $2,441,000. Buyer: Kennewick School District. Seller: City Church

Assembly of God. 2454 Woods Drive, Richland, 2,803-square-foot, single-family home. Price: $520,000. Buyer: Brian & Stacey Reilly Trustees. Seller: Diori Kreske.

503 Knight St., Richland, 6,997-square-foot, commercial building. Price: $1,300,000. Buyer: 503 Knight LLC. Seller: Thomas & Karen Cowan.

5955, 5967, 5979 W. 41st Ave., Kennewick, 2 single-family homes on 0.56 acres. Price: $681,000.

Buyer: William Smith Properties & Kennewick Acquisition Company.

Seller: Landmark Homes of Washington.

610 The Parkway, Richland, 9,485-square-foot, commercial building. Price: $634,000. Buyer: Blue Pearl LLC. Seller: Zinn Family Trust.

1238 Columbia Park Trail, Richland, 2 commercial buildings on 2.55 acres. Price: $1,450,000. Buyer: Perfection Properties Management.

Seller: Riversedge Investment.

1057 George Washington Way, Richland, 3,276-square-foot, commercial building on 0.5 acres. Price: $699,900. Buyer: SHS LLC. Seller: Russell & Judith Homewood.

3124 Willow Pointe Road, Richland, 2,756-square-foot, singlefamily home. Price: $529,000. Buyer: Rickshaw Properties. Seller: Evan & Joan Rosenberg.

1414 Tuscany Place, Richland, 4218-square-foot, single-family home on 0.65 acres. Price: $575,000.

Buyer: Santhosh Somashekar & Maninder Kaur. Seller: William Kummer.

425 Keene Court, Richland, 1,784-square-foot, single-family home on 17.62 acres. Price: $1,979,500. Buyer: P&R Construction. Seller: Florence Shaw.

FRANKLIN COUNTY 1525 N. 16th Ave., Pasco, 14,784-square-foot, multiple resident building. Price: $1,450,000. Buyer: Sepp and Affiliates. Seller: Vivian Financial Group.

Undisclosed location, 13.84 acres of undeveloped land. Price: $620,000. Buyer: Solferino Homes.

Seller: Jerry & Dorothy Davis.

11200 W. Court St., Pasco, 3,558-square-foot, single-family home. Price: $740,000. Buyer: Damian & Christy Padilla. Seller: Sandlin Family Trust.

uBUILDING PERMITS

Building permit values have been rounded to the nearest hundred figure.

BENTON COUNTY Lamb Weston, 187107 S. Watts Road, $83,500 for new commercial construction. Contractor: Hendon Construction Co. James Hutchinson, 4771 W. Lattin Road, $705,900 for new commercial construction. Contractor: RD Construction. uPUBLIC RECORD, Page 65

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • February 2018 PUBLIC RECORD, From page 64 FRANKLIN COUNTY Douglas Fruit, 110 Taylor Flats Road, $3,206,600 for commercial construction. Contractor: Double Cold.

T-Mobile, 202 Pepiot Road, $20,000 for an antenna/tower. Contractor: SAC Wireless.

American Tower, 500 E. Elm St., $15,000 for an antenna/tower.

Contractor: General Dynamics Information Telecommunications AT&T, 1221 Cemetery Road, $15,000 for an antenna/tower.

Contractor: General Dynamics Information Telecommunications USCOC of Richland, 10801 Burns Road, $18,000 for an antenna/tower.

Contractor: SAC Wireless.

KENNEWICK USCOC of Richland, 515 N. Johnson St., $18,000 for an antenna.

Contractor: SAC Wireless.

Kennewick Public Hospital District, 701 N. Young St., $15,000 for mechanical. Contractor: Dependable Plumbing.

Joo Baik Kim, 5616 W. Clearwater Ave., $8,000 for a sign. Contractor: Quality Signs.

Bruce Co, 5115 W. Brinkley Road, $100,000 for commercial addition.

Contractor: CRF Metal Works.

Kenyakmb, 314 N. Wilson Place, $4,000,000 for new commercial construction, $30,000 for plumbing and $124,000 for a heat pump/HVAC. Contractors: Vandervert Construction, Columbia River Plumbing and Total Energy Management.

G2 Investments, 7106 W. Hood Place, $500,000 for new commercial construction, $25,000 for plumbing and $25,000 for a heat pump/HVAC. Contractors: G2 Commercial Construction and Progressive Design Plumbing.

Columbia Mall Partnerships, 1321 N. Columbia Center Blvd., $60,000 for commercial remodel. Contractor: Synergy Contracting.

PLG NW, 1313 N. Young St., $40,000 for tenant improvements.

Contractor: Signature NW Construction.

731 Columbia LLC, 731 N. Columbia Center Blvd., $14,000 for a sign. Contractor: Quality Signs.

Tanglewood Apartments, 465 N. Arthur St., $250,000 for tenant improvements. Contractor: Hudson & Sons Construction.

Terry McCardle, 8530 W. Gage Blvd., $5,200 for a sign. Contractor: Mustang Signs.

LAIC, 7035 W. Clearwater Ave., $15,000 for a sign. Contractor: Mustang Signs.

Overturf Properties, 1016 W. Columbia Drive, $20,000 for a sign.

Contractor: Quality Signs.

Sage Bay Company, 6512 W. Hood Place, $60,000 for tenant improvements, $6,300 for a heat pump/ HVAC and $6,000 for plumbing.

Contractors: owner, Campbell & Company and Express 24 Hour Plumbing.

Smith Cove Partnership, 3180 W. Clearwater Ave., $33,000 for tenant improvements. Contractor: Alldredge Construction Services.

LPJ Properties, 8019 W. Quinault Ave., $8,000 for commercial remodel. Contractor: owner.

KDS Development, 3128 S. Olympia St, $8,800 for demolition.

Contractor: Andrist Enterprises.

City of Kennewick, 414 N. Morain St., $32,500 for a heat pump/HVAC. Contractor: Apollo Sheet Metal.

Kennewick Properties, 3030 W. Fourth Ave., $68,000 for commercial remodel. Contractor: Roberts Construction.

McCardle Trustees, 8903 W. Gage Blvd., $18,000 for tenant improvements and $8,000 for a heat pump/ HVAC. Contractors: JNM Construction and Integrity Three Heating & Air. TriCity Investors, 3 W. Columbia Drive, $6,000 for a sign. Contractor: Quality Signs.

Community First Bank, 8131 W. Grandridge Blvd., $65,500 for tenant improvements. Contractor: Reiboldt Mallonee Construction.

Jose Valle, 15 E. First Ave., $29,000 for commercial reroof. Contractor: owner.

PASCO Port of Pasco, 1810 E. Ainsworth Ave., $60,000 for commercial addition. Contractor: Moreno & Nelson.

Education Services, 3918 W. Court St., $52,000 for tenant improvements. Contractor: Siefken & Sons Construction.

Croskrey Properties, 3302 Road 44, $6,300 for a sign. Contractor: Quality Signs.

Tri-Cities Community Health, 715 W. Court St., $59,300 for tenant improvements. Contractor: to be determined.

CSP Pasco, 1330 N. 20th Ave., $101,400 for sewer line. Contractor: Apex Contracting.

Port of Pasco, 3135 Rickenbacker Road, $947,900 for new commercial construction. Contractor: MH Construction.

Pasco School District, 1801 Road 40, $54,000 for a fire alarm/system.

Contractor: Moon Security.

Sandifur Plaza Retail, 5426 Road 68, $20,000 for commercial remodel.

Contractor: Tri-Rivers Construction Services.

Hogback Sandifur, 5710 Road 68, $854,900 for new commercial construction. Contractor: Stephens & Sons Construction.

J&L Fairchild, 5020 Convention Place, $169,200 for tenant improvements. Contractor: owner.

Goodwill Industries, 3521 W. Court St., #B, $5,000 for demolition.

Contractor: Bosch Construction.

Rowand & Associates, 1925 E. James St., $302,100 for tenant improvements. Contractor: Garco Construction.

Americo Real Estate, 3212 W. Court St., $28,000 for commercial reroof. Contractor: Cobra Bec Inc. Permobile Pasco, 2710 W. Court St., $7,000 for a commercial addition. Contractor: Columbia Basin Plumbing.

Frost Re, 5821 Burlington Loop, $35,000 for commercial addition.

Contractor: Total Scale Service.

JPS Investments, 1506 E. Salt Lake St., $178,000 for new commercial construction. Contractor: owner.

Simplot-RDO, 1825 N. Commercial Ave., $20,700 for a sign. Contractor: Signs by Sue. Daniel Martinez, 3020 N. Capitol Ave., $5,000 for commercial remodel. Contractor: owner.

Sisters of St. Joseph, 520 N. Fourth Ave., $125,700 for plumbing.

Contractor: Cray Plumbing.

Jesus Diaz, 720 N. 20th Ave., $135,600 for commercial addition.

Contractor: Pena Brothers Construction.

PROSSER Heartlinks, 612 Fifth St., $39,000 for commercial remodel. Contractor: Mountain States Construction.

Presbyterian Church, 912 Yakima Ave., $496,500 for commercial remodel. Contractor: Bestebreur Bros Construction.

Milne Fruit Production, 2200 SR 221, $1,878,500 for new commercial construction and $8,000 for grading.

Contractors: owner and Puterbaugh Construction.

Milne Fruit Production, 804 Bennett Ave., $19,200 for commercial reroof. Contractor: Leslie & Campbell.

65

ments. Contractor: Northwest Construction Services.

All Saints Episcopal, 1322 Kimball Ave., $13,900 for a heat pump/ HVAC. Contractor: Delta Heating & Cooling.

Battelle Memorial Institute, 520 Third St., $3,500,000 for demolition.

Contractor: CH2M Hill.

Battelle Memorial Institute, 524 Third St., $29,000 for demolition.

Contractor: CH2M Hill.

STPF-Kennewick, 1480 Tapteal Drive, $160,000 for tenant improvements. Contractor: O’brien Construction.

Abrams Family, 309 Bradley Blvd., $14,000 for tenant improvements.

Contractor: Emergency Response.

Wallace Properties, 1729 George Washington Way, $11,300 for demolition. Contractor: Columbia Property Maintenance.

Port of Benton, 2920 George Washington Way, $50,000 for demolition. Contractor: owner.

River Walk Village, 400 Bradley Blvd., Suite 200, $5,300 for a heat pump/HVAC. Contractor: Campbell & Company.

WEST RICHLAND Sprint Property, 5390 Astoria Road, $5,000 for tenant improvements.

Contractor: Hoss Consulting.

City of West Richland, 5375 Astoria Road, $15,000 for commercial remodel. Contractor: General Dynamics Information Telecommunications.

uBUSINESS LICENSES At press time, business licenses for the city of Kennewick and Pasco were not available.

RICHLAND

KENNEWICK

City of Richland, 2630 Battelle Blvd., $40,000 for an antenna/tower.

Contractor: Centro Christiano Zion.

Gsota Family, 129 Gage Blvd., $10,000 for tenant improvements.

Contractor: Skills Construction.

JLS Asset Management, 2373 Jericho Road, Building A, $40,000 for an antenna/tower. Contractor: North Sky Communications.

Napa Auto Parts, 877 Stevens Drive, $18,700 for commercial reroof.

Contractor: Palmer Roofing.

Walmart, 2801 Duportail St., $400,000 for tenant improvements.

Contractor: Sletten Construction.

Hiline Leasing, 2360 Lindberg Loop, $80,000 for tenant improvements.

Contractor: Hiline Engineering & Fabrication.

Kadlec Regional Medical Center, 1100 Goethals Drive, $135,000 for tenant improvements. Contractor: Bouten Construction.

Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints, 969 Gage Blvd., $53,000 for mechanical. Contractor: Apollo Sheet Metal.

Port of Benton, 2807 Stevens Drive, $18,000 for an antenna/tower.

Contractor: SAC Wireless.

Port of Benton, 1851 Terminal Drive, $150,000 for tenant improve-

Schwan’s Home Service, 7807 44th Ave. W., Mukilteo.

Interior Form Tops, 1420 Meridian E., Suite 5, Milton.

Evan Van Tine, 2417 W. Kennewick Ave. Frontier Electric of Washington, 7217 NE 99th St., Vancouver.

Apollo, Inc, 1133 W. Columbia Drive.

Alan J. Tindell, Attorney at Law, 1030 N. Center Parkway.

Go Wireless/Verizon Wireless, 4101 W. 27th Place.

Thermotech Heating & Cooling, 1218 W. 21st Ave. Woods Nursery & Garden Store, 1020 N. Center Parkway, Suite B. Jay’s Concrete, 381 Puterbaugh Road, Grandview.

Ty Remodel Co., 3803 W. 48th Ave. Rattlesnake Rc, 2405 W. Clearwater Ave. Legacy Lawn and Landscape, 4315 Messara Land, Pasco.

Absolute Insurance Solutions, 1030 N. Center Parkway, Suite 313.

Mr. Chips, 836 Preston Ave., Waitsburg.

Tax Services of America/DBA Jackson Hewitt Tax Service, 4311 W. Clearwater Ave., Suite 140.

uPUBLIC RECORD, Page 66

66

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • February 2018

PUBLIC RECORD, From page 65 Tax Services of America/DBA Jackson Hewitt Tax Service, 2720 S. Quillan St. Hicks Striping & Curbing, 3720 Brooklake Road, Salem, Oregon.

Tri-City Beautiful Lawns, 716 N. 12th Ave., Pasco.

Boyer Mtn Door & Pool, 4960 Mission Creek Road, Cashmere.

Lancaster Trenching, 2492 E. 2800 N., Filer, Idaho.

Rouse Custom Homes & Insulation, 64020 Meadowbrook Road, Joseph, Oregon.

Kitt Construction & Development, 5010 W. Chestnut Ave., Yakima.

Sequoia Business Services, 5900 W. Yellowstone Ave. Morningstar Business Associates, 8382 W. Gage St., Suite M. Stanley Access Technologies, 4433 Russell Road, Mukilteo.

The Local, 5453 Ridgeline Drive, Suite 140.

Seal Springs, 198818 E. 73rd Ave. Balanced Accounting and Bookkeeping, 8656 W. Gage Blvd., Suite A104.

Porter’s Real Barbecue, 1022 N. Columbia Center Blvd.

Hom Solutions of Durango, 6512 W. Hood Place, Suite 120.

A Quality Roof Now, 300 Charvet Road, Grandview.

Savino Mechanical, 8200 W. Deschutes Ave. Babylon Construction, 4608 W. Hood Ave. Catalyst Natural Health, 201 N. Edison St. Columbia Industrial Coatings, 5456 W. Van Giesen St., West Richland.

Bdb Creative Iron Works, 4422 W. Fourth Ave. Elevated Concepts, 120 State Ave. NE, Olympia.

Blue Mountain Backflow Testing, 1120 S. Morain St. Aspen Hills Apartments, 803 S. Olympia St. Renewbio, 512 Canyon Lakes Drive.

Aunty Wonderful’s Artisan Crafts, 252 W. 53rd Ave. Apex Contracting & Paving, 1020 N. Center Parkway, Suite B. Withinsight Mind & Body, 3902 W. Clearwater Ave., Suite 106.

Agr Arc and Steel, 209808 E. Perkins Road.

Little Achievers Daycare, 11 N. Lincoln St. Arcfabtc, 4507 Holly Way, West Richland.

Ramirez Construction, 411 W. Clark St., Suite G, Pasco.

Stone Age Granite, 1520 W. Howard St., Pasco.

Tri-Cities Remodel Pros, 5252 Pinehurst St., West Richland.

Afj Auto Body Collision Repair Center, 700 E. Bruneau Ave. David’s Yard Maintenance, 4102 Wenview Court, West Richland.

Gunderson Contracting, 8180 W. Fourth Ave. Toner & Associates Corp, 8382 W. Gage Blvd., Suite A. Solgen Power, 5100 Elm Road,

Pasco.

Tri-Cities Storm Softball Organization, 2003 W. 43rd Place.

Construction Services of Washington, 512 Canyon Lakes Drive.

Market Equipment, 1114 N. Ruby St., Spokane.

Pyramid Painting & Construction, 904 Sanford Ave., Richland.

Bryan Verhei Realtor, 329 N. Kellogg St. TriCity Remodel, 320 Scot St., Richland.

Lobos Stucco, 416 S. Seventh Ave., Walla Walla.

Keepsafe Home Inspection, 4604 S. Ledbetter St. Jcg Care, 10 N. Mayfield St. New Flag Design, 5628 W. Clearwater Ave., Suite D1.

Louber, 910 S. Dawes St. Pacific Northwest Construction & Restoration, 420 S. Quincy St. Qc Quality Construction, 714 W. Columbia Drive.

The Town & Co Washington, 3711 Plaza Way, Suite 120.

Contreras Lawn Care Services, 18304 S. Myrtle St. The Bookkeeper, 3604 S. Dennis St. The Painted Syrah, 5501 W. Hildebrand Blvd.

The Needle Nerd, 7611 W. Sixth Ave. Yesu Creations, 4102 S. Irby St. Peach Pie Supply, 3605 S. Keller St. Dallaire Design Group, 3122 W. Seventh Ave. Wishing Well Soapery, 4201 S. Vancouver St. Buddys Home Furnishing, 252 E. Main St., Auburn.

Ricky’s Construction, 701 S. Volland St. Tristin Schab, Advanced Practice Corp, 1029 N. Kellogg St. NewLook Landscaping, 1108 E. 23rd Ave. Sugar’D B Goodies, 1029 W. 15th Place.

Savvy Jean Cleaning, 7404 Sandy Ridge Road, Pasco.

Justin E. Brown, Financial Advisor, 8905 W. Gage Blvd., Suite 300.

Windy Rock, 2025 W. 27th Ave. Tri Cities Licensing, 3400 W. Clearwater Ave., Suite 1.

E&A Express, 110 W. 48th Ave. First Edison, 930 S. 336th St., Suite B, Federal Way. Enabled Table, 4500 S. Dayton Court.

Tri-Cities Construction, 1728 N. 22nd Ave., Pasco.

Professor Finance, 249 Sarah Road.

VL Flooring, 1743 S. Cascade St. Empire Bros Construction, 931 W. Ag, Pasco.

J&A Quality Lawn Care, 821 N. Douglas Court, Pasco.

Jordan Mechanical Group, 1606 S. Roosevelt Place.

Tf Transport, 6900 W. Sixth Ave. Makeup by Mika, 506 W. 48th Ave. Tammy’s Tune Totes and Treasures, 725 N. Center Parkway.

Throttle Tribe, 509 S. Johnson St. Shiny Girl Cleaning, 2105 N. Steptoe St. Resonance DJ Services, 512 W. Canyon Lakes Drive.

WEST RICHLAND Authority Resources, 5360 Grant St. Giddy Up BBQ, 4320 Angel Lake Court.

Haus of Sausage, 5442 Fern Loop.

Cliff Martin, 5902 Pierre Drive, Pasco.

396Auto, 3800 Crystal Lake Court.

Dillon Miller Designs, 2011 Crab Apple Circle.

WF Consulting, 1528 Quartz Ave. Samuel Schlachter, 3919 Peppertree Court, Pasco.

Heyden Empire, 4033 W. Van Giesen St. RLC Construction, 93617 E. Valencia Drive, Kennewick.

Clean Cut TC, 1009 W. Park Hills Drive, Kennewick.

Savvy Moms, 4034 W. Van Giesen St., Suite A. Woods Nursery & Garden Store, 1020 N. Center Parkway, Suite B, Kennewick.

Seal Springs, 198818 E. 73rd Ave., Kennewick.

Tri-City Beautiful Lawns, 716 N. 12th Ave., Pasco.

Offset Solar, 933 Louise Ave., Suite 101E, Charlotte, North Carolina.

Shiny Girl Cleaning, 2105 N. Steptoe St., Kennewick.

Columbia Industrial Coatings, 5456 W. Van Giesen St. John’s Dryer Vent Cleaning Service, 1304 Babs Ave., Benton City.

J&A Quality Lawn Care, 821 N. Douglas Court, Pasco.

All About Plants, 1069 Sirron Ave., Richland.

Market Equipment, 1114 N. Ruby St., Spokane.

MH Construction, 4211 W. Clearwater Ave., Kennewick.

Boyer Mtn Door & Pool, 4960 Mission Creek Road, Cashmere.

Solgen Power, 5100 Elm Road, Pasco.

Agr Arc and Steel, 209808 E. Perkins Road, Kennewick.

New Flag Design, 5628 W. Clearwater Ave., Suite D1, Kennewick.

All of the Above Construction, 62306 N. 106 PRNE, Benton City.

American Iron Art, 2857 Timberline Drive.

Queendom, 6005 Kilawea Drive.

Freedom Construction, 76911 E. Homestead Road, Kennewick.

Babylon Construction, 4608 W. Hood Ave., Kennewick.

Tri-Cities Construction, 1728 N. 22nd Ave., Pasco.

PC Limited, 3621 Everett St. NewLook Landscaping, 1108 E. 23rd Ave., Kennewick.

Contreras Lawn Care Service, 18304 S. Myrtle St., Kennewick.

VL Flooring, 1743 S. Cascasde St., Kennewick.

Kelly’s Excavating, 4806 W. Van

Giesen St. Sunlit Publishing, 4601 Mallard Court.

Bsfishtanks, 1552 Diamond Drive.

TriCity Remodel, 320 Scot St., Richland.

Howard Education Human Resources Consulting, 3802 Crystal Lake Court.

Keepsafe Home Inspection, 4604 S. Ledbetter St., Kennewick.

Legacy Lawn and Landscape, 4315 Messara Lane, Pasco.

Apex Contracting & Paving, 1020 N. Center Parkway, Suite B, Kennewick.

A Quality Roof Now, 300 Charvet Road, Grandview.

Phase 2 Electric, 2146 N. Commercial Ave., Pasco.

Ricky’s Construction, 701 S. Volland St., Kennewick.

Jay’s Concrete, 381 Puterbaugh Road, Grandview.

uJUDGMENTS The state can file lawsuits against people or businesses that do not pay taxes and then get a judgment against property that person or business owns. Judgments are filed in Benton-Franklin Superior Court. The following is from the Franklin County Superior Court Clerk’s Office.

Southern Belles Espresso, unpaid Department of Revenue taxes, filed Jan. 2.

Jose Paulo Contreras et al, unpaid Department of Revenue taxes, filed Jan. 2.

Campuzano Santo et al, unpaid Department of Revenue taxes, filed Jan. 2.

Ofelia Ochoa et al, unpaid Department of Revenue taxes, filed Jan. 2.

Luis Alberto Chavez, unpaid Department of Labor and Industries taxes, filed Jan. 5.

Stephen P. Lodi, unpaid Employment Security Department taxes, filed Jan. 5.

Jose N. Chavez, unpaid Employment Security Department taxes, filed Jan. 5.

Juan de la Torre, unpaid Employment Security Department taxes, filed Jan. 5.

Arnoldo Ortiz Iglesias, unpaid Employment Security Department taxes, filed Jan. 5.

Ellen L. Weber, unpaid Employment Security Department taxes, filed Jan. 5.

Adolfo Carrillo Robles, unpaid Employment Security Department taxes, filed Jan. 5.

Ramiro Rodriguez Jr., unpaid Employment Security Department taxes, filed Jan. 5.

Christopher R. Borrego, unpaid Employment Security Department taxes, filed Jan. 5.

Israel D. Navarrete, unpaid Employment Security Department taxes, filed Jan. 5.

Travis N. Kearney, unpaid Employment Security Department taxes, filed Jan. 5.

Genny R. Briones, unpaid Employment Security Department taxes, filed Jan. 5. uPUBLIC RECORD, Page 67

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • February 2018 PUBLIC RECORD, From page 66 Harrison-Ray Water Company, unpaid Department of Revenue taxes, filed Jan. 8.

Rubio I. Cardenas et al unpaid Department of Revenue taxes, filed Jan. 11.

Chivas Customs Homes, unpaid Department of Revenue taxes, filed Jan. 11.

Hockey Source, unpaid Department of Revenue taxes, filed Jan. 11.

Maria del R. Morales et al, unpaid Department of Revenue taxes, filed Jan. 11.

Ivans Construction, unpaid Department of Revenue taxes, filed Jan. 11.

La Pinata Payaso, unpaid Department of Revenue taxes, filed Jan. 11.

Lee Sang Hoon, unpaid Department of Revenue taxes, filed Jan. 11.

Rojas Builders, unpaid Department of Labor and Industries taxes, filed Jan. 17.

Rivera Investments, unpaid Department of Labor and Industries taxes, filed Jan. 17.

Jose Paulo Contreras, unpaid Department of Labor and Industries taxes, filed Jan. 17.

Columbia Memorial Park, unpaid Department of Labor and Industries taxes, filed Jan. 17.

Fidel C. Valencia et al, unpaid Employment Security Department taxes, filed Jan. 19.

Jose Paulo Contreras, unpaid Employment Security Department taxes, filed Jan. 19.

Brookeside, unpaid Employment Security Department taxes, filed Jan. 19.

Reyna V. Trejo et al, unpaid Employment Security Department taxes, filed Jan. 19.

Wilkerson Welding and Fabrication, unpaid Employment Security Department taxes, filed Jan. 19.

Onofre Solano Ballardes, unpaid Employment Security Department taxes, filed Jan. 22.

Carniceria Los Toreros, unpaid Department of Revenue taxes, filed Jan. 22.

Alicia Valencia, unpaid Department of Revenue taxes, filed Jan. 22.

Garibaldi, unpaid Department of Revenue taxes, filed Jan. 22.

Ramiro Castilleja, unpaid Employment Security Department taxes, filed Jan. 29.

La Pinata Payaso, unpaid Department of Labor and Industries taxes, filed Jan. 29.

Alex B. Najera, unpaid Department of Labor and Industries taxes, filed Jan. 29.

3 Cities Landscaping, unpaid Department of Labor and Industries taxes, filed Jan. 29.

Fidel Cantu Jr., unpaid Department of Labor and Industries taxes, filed Jan. 29.

Blue Sky Painting, unpaid Department of Labor and Industries taxes, filed Jan. 29.

JC’s General Construction, unpaid

Employment Security Department taxes, filed Jan. 31.

Patrick S. Stevenson, unpaid Employment Security Department taxes, filed Jan. 31.

Eliza I. Hernandez, unpaid Employment Security Department taxes, filed Jan. 31.

Daniel Soto, unpaid Employment Security Department taxes, filed Jan. 31.

Sandra L. Flores, unpaid Employment Security Department taxes, filed Jan. 31.

Lilibeth Vallejo, unpaid Employment Security Department taxes, filed Jan. 31.

uLIQUOR LICENSES BENTON COUNTY NEW APPLICATIONS Su Karne Meat Market and Deli, 402 N. Ely St., Kennewick. License type: beer/wine grocery store.

Application type: new.

Sakura Restaurant, 130 Keene Road, Richland. License type: spirits/ beer/wine restaurant. Application type: assumption.

Cass Inc, 214711 E. SR 397, Kennewick. License type: spirits/ beer/wine restaurant lounge; kegs to go. Application type: assumption.

Ms. Rhodas Wine Garden, 702 Jadwin Ave, Suite B, Richland.

License type: direct shipment receiver in/out of Washington; tavern-wine;

off premises. Application type: new.

Palencia Wine Company, 421 E. Columbia Drive, Kennewick. License type: domestic winery <250,000 liters. Application type: new.

The Growler Guys, 110 Gage Blvd., Suite 204, Richland. License type: direct shipment receiver in/out of Washington; beer/wine specialty shop; keg sales. Application type: new.

APPROVED Porter’s Real Barbecue, 1022 N. Columbia Center Blvd., Kennewick.

License type: direct shipment receiver in Washington only. Application type: new.

Hedges Family Estate, 53511 N. Sunset Road PRNE, Benton City.

License type: domestic winery >249,999 liters. Application type: alcohol permit.

Cottage Market, 1825 Wine Country Road, Prosser. License type: direct shipment receiver in/out of Washington. Application type: added/ change of class.

Fidelitas Wines, 51810 N. Sunset Road, Benton City. License type: domestic winery <250,000 liters.

Application type: alcohol permit.

Kiona Vineyards Winery, 44612 N. Sunset PRNE, Benton City. License type: domestic winery <250,000 liters. Application type: alcohol permit.

Kennewick Inn, 4001 W. 27th Ave., Kennewick. License type: beer/wine

67

grocery store. Application type: assumption.

Springhill Suites by Marriott – Kennewick, 7048 W. Grandridge Blvd., Kennewick. License type: direct shipment receiver in Washington only. Application type: assumption.

IDK Restaurant, 335 W. Columbia Drive, Kennewick. License type: spirits/beer/wine restaurant lounge.

Application type: new.

Market Vineyards, 1950 Keene Road, Building S, Richland. License type: domestic winery <250,000 liters. Application type: alcohol permit.

Green Oaks Brewing, 1427 Wine Country Road, Prosser. License type: microbrewery. Application type: added/change of class.

DISCONTINUED Smoke Shop, Etc., 450 Williams Blvd., Suite B, Richland. License type: beer/wine grocery store.

Zintel Creek Golf Club, 314 N. Underwood St., Kennewick. License type: spirits/beer/wine restaurant lounge.

Vineheart Winery, 44209 N. McDonald Road, Prosser. License type: domestic winery <250,000 liters.

Carniceria La Carreta, 1305 W. Fourth Ave., Suite B, Kennewick.

License type: beer/wine grocery store. uPUBLIC RECORD, Page 68

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• Upscale waiting room with large admin/reception area • 3 doctor’s offices, 2 manager offices • 8 exam rooms, 1 procedure room, lab room and file/computer room • Separate staff/patient restrooms • Reserved parking spaces • $18.50 SF plus NNN

Professionally managed by RAB Keystone, LLC. | Contact Rob Bill, CPM® , 509-628-9333, rkbill2540@frontier.com

68

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • February 2018

PUBLIC RECORD, From page 67

APPROVED

FRANKLIN COUNTY

Best Western Plus Pasco Inn & Suites, 2811 N. 20th Ave., Pasco.

License type: beer/wine restaurant.

Application type: assumption.

NEW APPLICATION Red Lion Airport Hotel, 2525 N. 20th Ave., Pasco. License type: direct shipment receiver in Washington only; hotel. Application type: new.

Wines of Sagemoor, 8930 W. Sagemoor Road Pasco. License type: domestic winery <250,000 liters; farmers market wine sales.

Application type: new.

7-Eleven Store #2306-14406Q, 1504 W. Sylvester, Pasco. License type: beer/wine grocery store.

Application type: assumption.

uMARIJUANA LICENSES

15505 Webber Canyon Road, Suite C1, Benton City. License type: Marijuana processor. Application type: assumption.

T in T Elements, 43001 N. Griffin Road, Unit D, Grandview. License type: marijuana producer tier 2; marijuana processor. Application type: added/change of class.

Rusty Nail Growers, 63910 E. Sunset View PRSE, Building A, Prosser. License type: marijuana producer tier 2; marijuana processor.

License type: assumption.

Application type: change of corporate officer.

BLF North, 46415 E. Badger Road, Suite B, Benton City. License type: marijuana producer tier 3. Application type: added fees.

Biggest Little Shop of Fun, 233757 E. SR 297, Kennewick. License type: marijuana producer tier 3. Application type: added/change of class.

Farmers Distributors, 237004 E. Legacy PRSE, Kennewick. License type: marijuana producer tier 3.

Application type: change of location.

BENTON COUNTY

APPROVED

uBUSINESS UPDATES

NEW APPLICATIONS

Wayne Seminoff Company, 2600 W. Bruneau Place, Kennewick.

License type: marijuana retailer.

NEW BUSINESSES

DISCONTINUED Town & Country Lanes, 641 S. Columbia, Connell. License type: snack bar.

American Cannabis Company,

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IDK Restaurant has opened at 335 W. Columbia Drive in Kennewick. The restaurant offers breakfast favorites, burgers, steaks and other dinner specials. Hours: 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 7 a.m. to midnight Friday and Saturday and 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Sunday. Contact: 509-579-0588, Facebook.

Jade’s British Girl Treats has opened inside Desert Wind Winery at 2258 Wine Country Road in Prosser.

The business sells chocolates and other sweet treats. Hours: 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. seven days a week. Contact: 509-643-9450, britishgirltreats.com, Facebook.

Savvy Moms has opened at 4034 W. Van Giesen St., Suite A in West Richland. The store sells new and gently used women’s and children’s clothing, shoes, baby gear and more.

Items are taken on consignment.

Hours: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Saturday. Contact: 509-713-7150, Facebook.

TyGuy Woods has opened in Kennewick. The business sells handmade indoor and outdoor wood furniture. Contact: 360-880-4925, Facebook.

ADDITIONAL LOCATION The Local Coffee House has opened a second location inside BlankSpace at 5453 Ridgeline Drive, Suite 140 in Kennewick. Hours: 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Sunday. Contact: 509-579-0891, wearethelocal.com, Facebook.

MOVED The Hunny-Do Crew has moved to 1918 Butler Loop in Richland.

Hours: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. Contact: 509-9480490, thehunnydocrew.com, Facebook.

NAME CHANGE Whitstran Brewing Company is now Green Oak Brewing at 1427 Wine Country Road in Prosser.

Contact: 509-786-4922, greenoak brewing.com, Facebook.

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • February 2018 uGRANTS • The Benton County Historic Preservation Grant Program has awarded grants to seven local organizations to use for historic preservation projects or education programs within Benton County.

Recipients are: Benton County Museum, $8,512; Benton-Franklin Council of Governments, $10,000; East Benton County Historical Society, $8,000; Historic Downtown Kennewick Partnership, $2,960; REACH museum, $5,473; Wheelhouse Community Bike Shop, $4,800; White Bluffs Quilt Museum (Native American Heritage Month), $2,240; and White Bluffs Quilt Museum (Quilt Index Project), $3,025. The grant program is funded by a $1 document fee used at the discretion of the county commissioners to promote historical preservation or historical programs, including preservation of documents.

• A $2,000 grant from the MidColumbia Ag Hall of Fame helped New Horizons High School students Eliseo Cardenas and Job Cardenas and FFA advisor Carol Travis attend the National Future Farmers of America Convention & Expo in Indianapolis. It was the first time the school was able to send students to the event, which lasts four days and attracts nearly 60,000 students from across the country.

uPROMOTIONS • Mellinda Renteria has been promoted to president for Charter College’s Pasco campus. She has been with the college since 2011, most recentMellinda Renteria ly serving as director of enrollment processing. She has a bachelor’s in accounting.

• Yakima Federal Savings and Loan has promoted the following employees: Melanie Kimm to senior vice president, Janette Smith to vice president, Adam Coe to assistant vice president, Andrew Bales to assistant vice president, Cristy Swearngin to assistant vice president, Cindy Marcear to assistant vice president and Enero Macias to assistant secretary.

uHONORS & AWARDS • The recipient of the 2017 Kathryn A. Wheeler Safety Leadership Award is Capt. Rudy Almeida of Mission Support Alliance’s Hanford Patrol Training Academy. Almeida, who joined

Hanford Patrol in 1979 as an officer, is now an emergency driving instructor trainer for the Department of Energy, the Federal Law Enforcement Training Rudy Almeida Center and the Washington State Criminal Justice Training Commission. Almeida has been an advocate for increasing vehicle safety on the Hanford site.

He has designed training courses to promote safe driving habits to help reduce site vehicle accidents. He also promotes safe driving at the annual Safety Expo using a simulator he designed and built. The annual Wheeler award recognizes a member of the MSA work force who demonstrates support of safety through worker engagement and activities that are collaborative, cooperative and proactive.

• The American Institute of Family Law Attorneys has recognized the performance of Washington’s family law attorney Zachary Ashby among the 2017 10 “Best Family Law Attorney for Client Satisfaction.” He is an attorney with Ashby Law, which has an office in the Tri-Cities. The institute is a third-party attorney rating organization that publishes an annual list of the Top 10 Family Law Attorneys in each state.

• Benton County was recently recognized by the Government Finance Officers Association with a certificate of achievement for excellence in financial reporting for its comprehensive annual financial report. This is the 14th consecutive year the county and the auditor’s office have received the award.

• Financial services company Edward Jones, which has offices in the Tri-Cities, has been named among the World’s Most Admired Companies by Fortune magazine. It also was ranked sixth in the securities and asset management category.

• Elouise Sparks of Pasco was named the winner of the 2018 Martin Luther King Jr. Spirit Award for her commitment to positive social change. Sparks received the honor in conjunction with Columbia Basin College’s 27th annual Martin Luther King Bell Jr. bell ringing ceremony. The CBC committee and CBC President Rebekah Woods said Sparks established and directs the Tri-Cities Miss Juneteenth Scholarship Pageant, has volunteered to minister to inmates at Coyote Ridge Correctional Center for 15 years and has directed the Tri-City Community Choir at the past 14 Martin Luther, Jr. ceremonies at CBC.

69

Using Google posts can provide businesses with robust online presence

BY JOSH KANDLE

for Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business

One of the newest features of the Google My Business dashboard is the ability to create posts. This is a bid by Google to get business owners to stay engaged with their Google My Business dashboards. In return, Google enables business owners to post their own custom content in the search results that are displayed when people search for a business by name.

The knowledge paragraph is simply the panel of information that is displayed when someone searches for your product, service or company. If you search for your company’s name and don’t see a panel of information, it means you haven’t established and verified your Google My Business Listing.

OK. Back to Google posts. Is it worth it? Here are the top four reasons you should be using Google posts: 1. It’s free — yay! How many marketing activities can you say that about?

2. Posts give you the ability to get more of your core content in front of prospective customers.

3. Having posts present in your knowledge panel pushes down the “people also searched for” section that Google populates. This section is nearly always filled with your competitors and who doesn’t want to push their competitors down a bit?

4. Using Google posts correlates with a small boost in visibility for your business in Google’s search results, according to an informal study by Google My Business top contributor Joy Hawkins.

Using Google posts is not going to open the floodgates of traffic. They are for prospective customers already somewhat familiar with your brand and already have done a branded search.

The posts can, however, entice more clicks, which you can send to targeted pages of your site.

Here are seven tips on best practices.

1. Google has made it easy to use the posts feature. If you can post on

A T M

Facebook, you’ll do fine. You’ll want to have an image, 100 to 300 words and a link to somewhere on the web you want people to go.

2. Focus the content of your posts on differentiating facJosh Kandle tors. What Cougar Digital makes your Marketing & organization or Design offer unique?

Give them a reason to click.

3. List events when you have them.

They last longer as the post doesn’t expire until the event does.

4. Post every week. These little buggers expire after seven days so you have to do a little leg work. Currently, there is no way to automate the process. However, Google has recently made some changes that hint this functionality might soon be possible through third-party services.

5. Image size should be 750-by-750 pixels. Make sure the most important parts of the image are centered because the top and bottom will get cut off on certain device viewports.

6. Posts must be between 100 to 300 words in length but only the first 100 characters are shown in the knowledge panel. The rest is truncated, so make sure your all-star text is comes first.

7. Use trackable links to get data on what posts bring traffic and do more of those.

The bottom line is that Google posts make your knowledge paragraph more robust and anything you can do to make your presence on Google more robust is a good thing for your business.

Josh Kandle is the creative director for Cougar Digital Marketing & Design in West Richland.

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Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • February 2018

AROUND TOWN

Winners of the eighth annual Lyle Holt Scholarship Competition posed for a picture with the scholarship’s namesake, Lyle Holt, left, during the Pasco Chamber of Commerce’s Eastern Washington Ag Expo on Jan. 9. He is also a member of the Mid-Columbia Ag Hall of Fame. Recipients were, from left, $1,000 to McCall Lovejoy of Tri-City Prep; $250 to McKenna Lovejoy of Tri-City Prep; $1,000 to Morgan Smith of Connell FFA; $1,500 to Faith Fishburn of Kamiakin FFA; and $250 to Taylor Michel of Kamiakin FFA. (Courtesy Pasco Chamber of Commerce)

McNary National Wildlife Refuge in Burbank held its sixth annual Winter Birds event on Feb. 10 and celebrated the grand opening of a new accessible bird blind, a small shelter birders use to observe wildlife. Children could wander through an owl labyrinth, examine owl pellets, create an owl mask and do a self-guided scavenger hunt. Visitors were able to view raptors on display from Blue Mountain Wildlife and participate in guided birding tours during the event. An estimated 250 visitors attended.

Ann Shattuck, center, director of Environmental Integration Services at Mission Support Alliance, received the Athena Leadership Award on Jan. 31. The award is presented annually to women who deserve recognition for professional excellence, community service and for actively assisting women in their attainment of leadership skills. These women are nominated by their peers and the winner is selected by the Tri-City Regional Chamber’s Awards and Recognition Committee. Shattuck is joined by Jim Hall, director of executive and community relations for Kadlec Regional Medical Center, left, and Khurshed Sharifov, right, chamber board chairman. (Courtesy Tri-City Regional Chamber)

Ryan Leaf, a former quarterback in the National Football League who played for Washington State University’s Cougars, spoke Jan. 27 during a fundraiser brunch for WSU’s Carson College of Business. The event, held at Anthony’s at Columbia Point in Richland, raised about $37,000 and there were more than 100 people in attendance. Leaf spoke about his journey from the top to the bottom. (Courtesy WSU Tri-Cities) Dick and Wendy Shaw were selected as the 2018 Legends of Washington Wine Hall of Fame inductees. The Walter Clore Wine and Culinary Center in Prosser will honor them during the Legends Gala in August.

The Shaws own about 2,800 planted acres in Eastern Washington, 520 of which are on Red Mountain, and they sell grapes to more than 55 wineries in Washington and Oregon.

Beyond vineyard operations, they are involved with their own wine brands Henry Earl Estate Wines and Russell Creek Winery in Walla Walla, and are partners in J & S Crushing, a 20,000-ton facility in Mattawa.

Most recently, they established the Shaw Island Event Center in the Puget Sound, a venue for weddings, receptions and winerelated events. (Courtesy Walter Clore Wine and Culinary Center)

Katie Sterling, material asset manager for Washington River Protection Solutions, received the Athena Young Professional Leadership Award on Jan. 31. The award is presented annually to a local woman under the age of 40 who deserves recognition for professional excellence, community service and for actively assisting women in their attainment of leadership skills.

Winners are nominated by their peers and the winner is selected by the TriCity Regional Chamber’s Awards and Recognition Committee. She is pictured with her husband, Rick. (Courtesy Tri-City Regional Chamber)

Email Around Town photo submissions with captions to editor@tcjournal.biz

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Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business â&#x20AC;¢ February 2018