Journal of Buiness - July 2021 by Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business/Senior Times

CELEBRATING

July 2021 Volume 20 | Issue 7

YEARS

Darigold picks Pasco for $500M plant By Wendy Culverwell editor@tcjournal.biz

Tourism

Visit Tri-Cities drops membership dues as it pivots to storytelling model Page A23

Business Profile

Mexican ice pop shop’s icy treats keep you cool on hot days Page A35

Real Estate & Construction

Ste. Michelle’s $1.2 billion sale will be felt in the Mid-Columbia Page B1

NOTEWORTHY “Retaining and growing customer relationships and key employee talent are the two of the most important things because if you do those two things well, and lead with integrity and hard work, the financial results and lasting success will come.” -Susan M. Horton, president and CEO, Wheatland Bank

Page A17

Darigold Inc. will build its largest ever milk drying plant in Pasco, cementing the region’s status as one of the Northwest’s leading centers for food processing. The Seattle-based dairy cooperative intends to build a $500 million, 400,000-square-foot protein and butter plant packed with carbon-reducing features on 150 acres at the Port of Pasco’s future Reimann Industrial Center off Highway 395. The port’s commission authorized a $3.3 million purchase and sale agreement at a special meeting July 1. However, the plant will open only after Darigold scrutinizes the impact of Washington’s new carbon rules. “Construction of the facility and the Port of Pasco agreement are contingent upon fair and equitable treatment under all new Washington state environmental legislation, which the company is currently assessing,” it said. The sale agreement gives Darigold 180 days to evaluate how Washington’s efforts to combat climate change will play out in its reported $2 billion business. The policy became law this year and sets the goal of net zero emissions from industry by 2050. Washington’s goals echo Darigold’s own intent to become carbon-neutral by 2050, which it announced in 2020. But until rules to implement the new carbon regulations are written, it is unclear how they will impact Darigold. “It’s a mystery,” said Randy Hayden, the port’s executive director. The deal will be the port’s biggest ever, but until it closes later this year, he cautioned against celebrating. If built, the Darigold facility will be the largest of its type in North America, processing eight million pounds of milk a day after it opens by Labor Day 2023. The port spent a year negotiating the deal with Darigold under the code name Project Ruby although word leaked out prior to the official announcement. The Tri-City Development Council (TRIDEC) is working with the state to determine if incentives might be available to support the company. Karl Dye, president and chief executive ofuDARIGOLD, Page A4

Courtesy Local Bounti Montana-based Local Bounti paid $3.1 million for 28 acres at Oregon Avenue and A Street north of Big Pasco Industrial Park. The indoor ag startup raises lettuce and herbs in high-tech greenhouses.

Montana ag company plans $40M Pasco greenhouse on heels of $1.1B IPO By Wendy Culverwell editor@tcjournal.biz

A Montana startup that raises lettuce and herbs in high-tech greenhouses is coming to the Tri-Cities on the heels of a merger that will take the company public with a valuation of $1.1 billion. Local Bounti, launched in Hamilton, Montana, in 2018 by a pair of former energy industry executives, will build the first of eight IPO-funded greenhouse complexes west of the Mississippi River in Pasco. The $40 million complex will include 32 greenhouses on 28 acres at Oregon Avenue and A Street in Pasco. It began discussing the project, dubbed Project Sunshine, with the Tri-City Development Council (TRIDEC) earlier this year. The company built its original green-

house in western Montana and is using proceeds from the IPO to build a network to serve what it calls a $10.6 billion market in the west, according to a June presentation to investors. “We are so excited to be coming to the Tri-Cities,” said Kathleen Valiasek, chief financial officer. An unnamed site in northern Colorado will be next. It is targeting western Nevada, southern Utah and the Texas-Oklahoma border for future facilities. All are expected to be open by 2025. Local Bounti paid $3.1 million for the Oregon Avenue site in a deal that closed June 3. It is north of Big Pasco Industrial Park, near U-Pull-It Auto Parts, an auto wrecking yard. The site is vacant, but Local Bounti inuLOCAL BOUNTI, Page A5

Reser’s Fine Foods begins 250,000-square-foot plant in Pasco By Wendy Culverwell editor@tcjournal.biz

A Portland food manufacturer known for its potato salad is expanding in the Mid-Columbia with a new processing plant in Franklin County, just north of the Pasco city border. Reser’s Fine Foods broke ground on a 250,000-square-foot facility plant on North Capital Avenue, east of Highway 395, shortly after it closed a $3 million deal for the 38acre site in June. It declined to disclose the project cost. Franklin County has not released construction permit data that would indicate a project value. It could exceed $300 million based on construction costs for the proposed Darigold

plant of $1,250 per square foot. The company declined to confirm through a spokeswoman if the figure is reasonable. The land sale is part of a combined sale involving Cox Family Land LLC. It sold the 55-acre northern part of its property to the Port of Pasco for a new industrial park (See related story on page B7.) and the southern acres to Reser’s. Both paid $80,000 an acre. Reser’s is not a port tenant. The Tri-City Development Council (TRIDEC) is working to see if Reser’s is eligible for state or local incentive funds. “We want to make sure they stay here in Washington,” said Karl Dye, president and chief executive officer. uRESER’S, Page A4

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Tri-City population continues to outpace the state In pandemic year 2020, the population in the greater Tri Cities grew among the fastest of all metro areas in Washington state. For Benton County, state Office of Financial Management (OFM) pegged the count at 209,300 residents; for Franklin County, at 99,500. That’s a gain of over 6,300 in 12 months. These estimates imply year-over-year population growth in Benton County at 1.8% and Franklin County at 2.8%. Demographers at the OFM released their population estimates in late June. This placed the two-county area third, after Clark County (Vancouver) and the greater Wenatchee area. Among all counties in the state, Franklin County’s growth rate ranked first. Why did the numbers jump so much? Three reasons. First is the circle of life. Demographers refer to the excess of births over deaths as the “natural increase.” In the two counties, that amounted to a little over 2,000. In-migration was the second one. It was larger force, as it has been over the past decade. At least 2,360 people found their way to the two counties. The past five years have shown in-migration to range from 2,100 to 4,300 annually. A third component is a bit of puzzler. It is a Census “adjustment.” The difference between OFM’s estimates and the 2020 Census count for Washington was about 49,000. This total was allocated over all 39 of Washington’s counties according to their proportion of the 2020 estimates. For the Tri-Cities, this meant about 1,960 added to the population estimate. But OFM has not added the amount to either of the two components. It is this observer’s hunch that the majority of that increase stems from net in-migration. What’s behind the continued interest by people from outside in the greater Tri Cities? Usually, it’s the prospect of employ-

ment. But not last year. As Trends data reveals, the pandemic led to an unprecedented drop in jobs of over 5,500 between 2020 and D. Patrick Jones 2019. Eastern It could very Washington well be that the University greater Tri-Cities GUEST COLUMN continues to expand due to its attraction to retirees. Trends data clearly shows the swelling of the 65+ ages over the past decade. In 2010, their share of total population was 10.4%. By 2020, it had grown to 14.5%. Some evidence of the 65+ crowd’s contribution to in-migration comes from the unemployment rate. If population is growing yet jobs are diminishing, one of the few explanations is a strong in-migration of people not looking for work. Should most of the in-migrants be job seekers, one would expect the unemployment rate to rise, relative to the state. But for 2020, this wasn’t the case. For the metro area, the 2020 unemployment rate rose from 5.6% the prior year to 8.4%, or by half. Yet the state unemployment rate doubled to 8.4% in 2020. It is true, however, that since the start of this year, Franklin County’s unemployment rate is higher than the state average. Monthly estimates can accessed on the Association of Washington Business Foundation website at awbinstitute.org. Undoubtedly some in-migration took place by those whose hopes for jobs were stymied, therefore joining the local ranks of the unemployed. But it seems likely that the 65+ population continued to loom even larger in 2020.

Population estimate 2021

Numeric change 2020-21

Percent change 2020-21

Benton County

209,300

3,600

1.75

Kennewick

85,940

980

1.15

Richland

59,570

1,020

1.74

West Richland

16,710

1,000

6.37

Prosser

6,310

1.45

Benton City

3,605

1.26

Franklin County

99,500

2,740

2.8

Pasco

79,580

2,480

3.22

Connell

5,275

-225

-4.09

Mesa

505

2.02

Kahlotus

165

STATE TOTAL

7,766,925

110,725

1.45

Source: state Office of Financial Management

Robust population growth brings general as well as specific consequences. From a general economic perspective, it’s hard to see too many negatives, as economic activity should climb roughly proportional with population growth. Think taxable retail sales, and hence sales tax flows to local government. Or property tax rolls. On the other hand, rapid population growth can bring a host of challenges. One is in the housing market, especially if housing doesn’t expand in measure with population. Dramatically rising prices of residential real estate, found in Trends data, is one consequence. Of course, barriers to supply of homes matter, too. Another challenge lies in physical infrastructure. New roads need to be built, current roads maintained and elevated demand for local government services paid for. Then there’s public K-12 schools. If enough of the population growth comes from families having children, then classrooms need to be added, leading ultimately to new schools, which of course have to be funded. Another age-specific consequence might be the distribution of income and wealth. If in-migrants are largely well-heeled, their demand for goods and services might

push up prices or access in key markets. Again, think housing. Or the ability to find a primary care physician. To this observer, however, the current mix of income and ages in the greater Tri-Cities is still a far cry from Aspen or even Coeur d’Alene. Over the past decade, population has clipped along at an annualized growth rate of 1.5% in Benton County and 2% in Franklin County. This rate placed Benton at third among all counties in the state (behind Clark) and Franklin at the very top. Looking forward, OFM’s forecast anticipates the two counties adding about 48,000 people by 2030. It will be fascinating to track where all these people decide to live. Will West Richland continue to lead the pack, on a percentage basis at least? Or will the more urban parts of the two counties gain in attraction, especially for the 65+ crowd? D. Patrick Jones is the executive director for Eastern Washington University’s Institute for Public Policy & Economic Analysis. Benton-Franklin Trends, the institute’s project, uses local, state and federal data to measure the local economic, educational and civic life of Benton and Franklin counties.

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ficers, praised the port for running with the project once Darigold reached out. “The Port of Pasco did a great job bringing all the partners together to really make the project work,” he said. Both the company and the port touted the plant’s many green features – anaerobic digesting, electric vehicle charging stations and other measures. Together, they will help facilitate the conversion to an all-electric fleet, mitigate 300,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide and cut road miles traveled by 5 million. “Darigold’s state-of-the-art facility will use the latest technology, serve as a model of sustainability and create a new market for our region’s ag producers,” said Hayden. It is the port’s largest project to date. Stan Ryan, president and CEO of Darigold, said the protein and butter operation in Pasco would help the company meet its carbon neutrality goals. Darigold is the processing and marketing arm of the Northwest Dairy Association, which is owned by 350 dairy enterprises in Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana. Its 11 plants, including one in Sunnyside, process more than 100 billion pounds of milk annually into dairy products sold in groceries restaurants and other outlets. The Darigold project will take up half the 300 acres in the port’s future Reimann Industrial Park property. The port established the park to build on the success of the nearby Pasco Processing Center, home to major food processors. In 2018, it paid $6.5 million for 300 acres of farmland and associated water just east of the processing center. Hayden said Darigold is the only firm to RESER’S, From page A1 Randy Hayden, the port’s executive director, called it a welcome move by a company that already has a big presence in Pasco. Its 110,500-square-foot processing plant at 5310 Industrial Way in Pasco dates to 1998. “We were very glad to see Reser’s choose Pasco for their expansion plant. They were looking at other sites in the country and chose Pasco because of the good business climate here and their good experience here,” Hayden said. The new prepared foods plant will be state-of-the art and accommodate rising demand for convenience foods, it said in a written response to questions submitted by

Courtesy Darigold Darigold Inc., Seattle-based marketing and processing arm of the Northwest dairy industry, will build a $500 million protein and butter plant in Pasco that it says will help it meet its carbon neutrality goals. The project is contingent on how Darigold is treated under Washington’s new environmental regulations.

commit to Reimann to date, though other potential candidates have “kicked the tires.” The $22,000 per acre price-tag is what the port paid. Darigold will acquire the water rights and pivot irrigation system that go with the property, currently used to grow alfalfa. It is expected to take the entire circle out of agriculture production. The discussions with Darigold coincided with the port’s efforts to plan the future development, which needs roads, water, sewer, a rail spur and other utilities. It will cost nearly $16 million to ready it for construction. Hayden said work won’t start until the Darigold deal closes, he said. Funding includes a $7.5 million appropriation in the state’s biannual capital budget, approved by the Legislature this year if the port inked a deal for a “large food processor” by late 2023. Hayden said the port will leverage local economic dollars to round out the budget. Darigold has applied for funds from the Governor’s Strategic Reserve. Tara Lee, spokeswoman for Gov. Jay Inslee, said its application is under review.

Darigold expects to employ 200 in Pasco addition to the 1,700-plus it already employees. It will support more than 1,000 jobs in related industries in the supply chain. The city of Pasco will provide water and sewer service to the plant, which will tap into an existing natural gas line that crosses the property. Darigold will split its wastewater stream with half going to the city’s industrial wastewater processing reuse facility and half to the municipal treatment plant The company will construct a wintertime wastewater retention pond to hold waste during the cold season when it cannot be sprayed on fields. The food processing industry employs 47,000 people in Washington at 1,765 firms with a combined annual payroll of more than $2 billion, according to Food Northwest, an industry association. Franklin County, the city of Pasco and the Tri-City Development Council (TRIDEC) supported the effort to bring Darigold to the Mid-Columbia.

the Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business. “That trend has really driven the growth in our business, and this new plant will help ensure we can keep up with the continued demand,” it said, adding that the new facility will employ technology to reduce water and power use. Reser’s produces side dishes at its existing Pasco plant, where it employs about 250 people. It plans to “repurpose” the facility once the new one is operational. Reser’s is a family-owned company that launched in 1950 to sell potato salad from a recipe developed by Mildred Reser. Operating as Mrs. Reser’s Salads, it sold side dishes to local stores to supplement the family’s income. It expanded over the years to offer other categories, growing to an

organization with revenue that has grown “well beyond” $1 billion. It employs more than 4,000 people at 14 major facilities in eight communities in the U.S., Canada and Mexico. Its prepared salads and side dishes are a staple of grocery store deli departments across the region. It produces deli salads, deli sides and entrees, dips, Mexican foods, cut potatoes and desserts. It markets its food products under the brands Reser’s, Main St. Bistro, Stonemill Kitchens, Don Pancho and Baja Café. It is one of Oregon’s largest privatelyheld companies and is the namesake for Reser Stadium on the Oregon State University campus in Corvallis.

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TRI-CITIES AREA JOURNAL OF BUSINESS | JULY 2021 LOCAL BOUNTI, From page A1 dicated it would break ground in June, with a target opening date of April 2022. The land deal came shortly before Local Bounti said it would go public via a merger with Leo Holdings III Corp. (NYSE: LIII), a publicly traded special purpose acquisition company, or SPAC, also known as a “blank check” investor. The combined company will trade under the symbol LOCL. The deal will provide up to $400 million to the combined company and fund plans to develop what it calls “controlled environment agriculture” facilities like the ones planned in Pasco and elsewhere. Cargill, the Minnesota-based food giant, is teaming with the head of a Thai-based energy and infrastructure company to invest $125 million through a private equity placement. Cargill is also expected to provide $200 million in debt. The Pasco complex will serve customers in Washington and Oregon, according to a map displayed during the June presentation. It currently produces seven different leafy products and expects to ramp up to 30 to 40 products in the near term. Its product line includes its “living” basil, cilantro and butter lettuce sold with the roots on, as well as its harvested or “cut” lettuce products such as green leaf, red leaf, butter and romaine lettuce. Local Bounti products are carried in 100 retail locations, chiefly Associated Food Stores URM retail banners including some Yoke’s Fresh Markets. It was not available in the Kennewick or West Richland Yoke’s in early July. Local Bounti casts itself as an agriculture disruptor ready to address looming food shortages through its indoor model. The investor presentation lays out the challenge: The world will need to produce up to 70% more food by 2050 but doesn’t have enough arable land and water to sustain traditional agriculture. Indoor agriculture will be worth $30 billion in the U.S. within a few years, and $10.6 billion in the western states. “Traditional agriculture is in need of a transformation,” it said.

uBUSINESS BRIEF

SBDC offers free small business support

Small businesses in the Tri-City area can receive free and confidential support from the Small Business Development Center. The SBDC can help develop solutions for small business problems. Certified advisors can assist businesses with areas such as human resources, financial statements and management, business plans, expansion or growth, among others. The Washington Small Business Development Center is a partnership with the U.S. Small Business Administration, Washington State University and other Washington Institutions of higher education and economic development organizations. For more information, contact John Morosco at 833-492-7232 or email tri. cities@wsbdc.org.

According to Local Bounti, its approach leaves no pesticide or herbicide residue and consumes up to 90% less water and land. It has a year-round growing season and because its greenhouses are close to consumers, its transportation costs and related emissions are lower than traditional agriculture. Its greens have longer shelf lives because there are less bacteria in the controlled environment. The cost competitive process is better for employees and delivers better quality produce to customers, it said. The investor document did not indicate how many workers it will need to operate each complex. Leafy greens are cultivated in vertically stacked “Stack & Flow” racks in its greenhouses, with the different crops harvested every 16 to 28 days.

The company was formed by Travis Joyner and Craig Hurlburt, former energy executives who led Montana-based BrightMark Partners. When they could not find an indoor agriculture business that met their investment criteria, the left to start one. They serve as co-CEOs. Hurlbert served as CEO and chair of an energy company before its sale and Joyner holds a doctorate in market research and statistics from the University of Kansas and a law degree from the University of Montana. In a press release announcing the IPO deal, Hurlbert indicated its vision extends beyond the west. “(The) announcement takes Local Bounti to the next level in enabling local, sustainable production and delivery of fresh, delicious and nutritious produce, including

in regions that traditionally don’t have access to local supply, starting in the western U.S. and expanding globally,” he said, Its merger partner, Leo Holdings, is led by a trio of Wall Street veterans, including chairman Ed Forst, whose background includes high level posts at Goldman Sachs, Cushman & Wakefield and Harvard University. Its greenhouses are constructed with pre-engineered, off-the-shelf construction and technology. Jason Goffard of Kiemle Hagood represented the seller, Snake River Agriculture LLC, in the sale to Local Bounti, which owns the site through Growth Bounti Northwest LLC. Snake River Agriculture is a holding of investors Steve West and Tom Kidwell.

TRI-CITIES AREA JOURNAL OF BUSINESS | JULY 2021

DATEBOOK JULY 20

• Franklin County Commission: 9 a.m. Details at co.franklin.wa.us/ commissioners/meeting.php. • Benton County Commission: 9 a.m. Details at co.benton.wa.us/ agenda.aspx.

JULY 22

• Port of Pasco Commission: 10:30 a.m. Details at portofpasco. org/about-us/port-commission. • Port of Kennewick Commission: 2 p.m. Details at portofkennewick.org/commissionmeetings. • Washington PTAC, “Meet the buyer: Doing Business with the Army Corps of Engineers (USACE)”: 9-10:30 a.m. Virtual meeting. Details at washingtonptac. org/calendar. • STCU, Organize your Finances: 6:30-7:30 a.m. Free online workshop. Details: stcu.org/ learn.

JULY 23

• Coffee with Karl: 9-10 a.m., webinar with president and CEO of TRIDEC Karl Dye and guest. Facebook.com/tcdevcouncil.

JULY 26

• Columbia Basin Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeons, Community Blood Drive: Noon-5 p.m. 512 N. Young St., Kennewick. Details at cboms.com/blooddrive.

JULY 27

• Franklin County Commission: 9 a.m. Details at co.franklin.wa.us/ commissioners/meeting.php. • Benton County Commission: 9 a.m. Details at co.benton.wa.us/ agenda.aspx. • Benton PUD public meeting on Clean Energy Implementation Plan: 8:15 a.m. Details at benton-pud.org/About/ Planning-Performance/IntegratedResources-Plan.

JULY 28

• PNNL, “Nuclear Explosion Monitoring: Unearthing Powerful Secrets”: 5-6 p.m., via Zoom. Details at pnnl.gov/events.

JULY 29

• WorkSource, “Summer Virtual Job Fair”: 10 a.m.–1 p.m. Register at bit.ly/wsummerjobfair.

JULY 30

• Coffee with Karl: 9-10 a.m., webinar with president and CEO of TRIDEC Karl Dye and guest. Facebook.com/tcdevcouncil.

JULY 31

• Tri-Cities Caner Center Foundation, Summer Barbecue: 6 p.m.-Midnight. Details at tccancer. org/events.

AUGUST 3

• Franklin County Commission: 9 a.m. Details at co.franklin.wa.us/ commissioners/meeting.php.

• Benton County Commission: 9 a.m. Details at co.benton.wa.us/ agenda.aspx.

AUGUST 4

• Tri-City Regional Chamber of Commerce, “Congressional Update”: Noon-1 p.m. Virtual luncheon. Details at tricityregionalchamber.com/events. • West Richland Area Chamber of Commerce in Person Lunch Meeting: 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. May-field Gathering Place & Gardens, 331 S. 41st Ave., West Richland. Details at westrichlandchamber.org. • PNNL, “Supercomputers: Solving Big Science Problems”: 5-6 p.m., via Zoom. Details at pnnl.gov/events.

AUGUST 6

• Coffee with Karl: 9-10 a.m., webinar with president and CEO of TRIDEC Karl Dye and guest. Facebook.com/tcdevcouncil.

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

TRI-CITIES AREA JOURNAL OF BUSINESS | JULY 2021

OPINION OUR VIEW 3 big food processors choose Pasco, betting on future Tri-City success By Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business

You may have noticed that this month’s front page, the spot where we put our most compelling news, is dominated by not one but three food processing stories out of Pasco. We normally strive to offer a more diverse mix and try to feature stories from at least two or three of the four (or five or six) cities that make up the Tri-Cities. But July was different. News that Dairgold Inc., Reser’s Fine Foods and an indoor agriculture startup in the middle of a $1.1 billion IPO are building new plants in Pasco was too, well, compelling to ignore. We promise there is plenty of interesting news from the other points on our compass in the July edition. But we hope you’ll appreciate the scope of what’s happening in Pasco at the moment. Darigold, Reser’s and Local Bounti together will spend as much as $1 billion to build plants in our community. They could have chosen other spots. No doubt fierce battles to lure them were being fought behind the scenes elsewhere. But they chose us. As Randy Hayden, executive director of the Port of Pasco, said of Reser’s, it chose Pasco because it’s had a good experience here since it first landed in 1998. Darigold, the dairy cooperative based in Seattle, will build its largest protein and butter plant – milk drying for short –

ever, a $500 million investment. Portland-based Reser’s Fine Foods bought a portion of the old Cox Farms for its new expansion plant, a 250,000-square-foot giant that dwarfs its existing 110,000 square foot plant at the Pasco Processing Center. As Hayden noted, Reser’s looked at other sites before staying in Pasco. It hasn’t disclosed its project budget, but it could extend into the nine-figure range. Local Bounti is a newcomer to the food processing industry. The Hamilton, Montana-based startup is building a $40 million greenhouse complex in Pasco, fueled by a merger/IPO deal with a special purpose acquisition firm called Leo Holdings III. We talk a lot about economic diversification in the Tri-Cities, about developing an economy that can stand on its own two feet, independent from the steady stream of funding flowing from the U.S. Department of Energy to Hanford cleanup. No one is complaining about the wealth that creates in both talent and tech here. But manufacturing, specifically food manufacturing, brings something else. The Tri-Cities is one of, if not the most, important food processing communities in the Northwest. We’re glad the big guys like Darigold and Reser’s agree, and that a newcomer like Local Bounti is betting its future success on us too.

Labor shortage emerges as major issue for employers What a difference a year makes. As Washington emerges from the pandemic, one of the biggest challenges facing many employers is finding enough qualified workers. It’s a dramatic shift from a year ago, when businesses were forced to close their doors to slow the spread of the virus, leading to an unprecedented surge in unemployment. Today, most Covid-19 business restrictions are lifted, and the economy is beginning to recover from the pandemic. In nearly every community, “Help Wanted” signs are common in store windows and more employers across more industries are offering signing bonuses today than we’ve ever seen. Compared to the challenges we faced a year ago, it’s a good problem to have. But unless something is done to address the escalating workforce crisis, it will be a drag on long-term economic recovery. A lack of skilled and qualified workers was a big issue for many employers prior to the pandemic. The pandemic has exposed and magnified the issue, as it has so many others. According to the state Department of Commerce recovery dashboard, weekly job postings increased sharply in Washington after the first of the year, reversing the steep declines that began in March 2020. Restaurants, hotels, trucking companies and other employers report they can’t find enough people to fill all the openings.

There are multiple factors at play, including enhanced unemployment benefits, lack of child care and health concerns. The return of Kris Johnson the job-search Association of requirement Washington this month for Business those receiving GUEST COLUMN unemployment benefits will likely help, but not solve the state’s workforce challenges. An important long-term solution is to connect young people with real-world, work-based learning opportunities that will prepare them for high-growth careers. The Washington Workforce Portal, a project of the AWB Institute, is doing just that in two pilot efforts underway in Spokane and the Tri-Cities. The Association of Washington Business will explore these issues and more at the upcoming Workforce Summit, as well as potential solutions. The hybrid inperson and online event is July 21 at the Greater Tacoma Convention Center. The workforce shortage is a nationwide challenge. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce recently launched a nationwide initiative called America Works

uJOHNSON, Page A10

Tree farms may be key to cutting greenhouse gases As climate change concerns grow, researchers are turning to small tree farmers for help. Actually, tree farms have been helping for nearly a century, but their efforts have largely gone unrecognized. For decades, the American Tree Farm program has emphasized sustainability and managing lands for water quality, wildlife, wood and recreation. Now, it is adding climate change. According to the American Forest Foundation, families and individuals collectively care for the largest portion of forests in the U.S., more than the government or corporations and an area larger than California and Texas combined. In Washington, with its legacy of clean drinking water and vigorous salmon runs, healthy forests are key to a healthy water supply. They act as a natural water filter and storage system. However, for more than 50 years, the focus has been on water, rather than air, quality.

Our state’s tree farmers manage their lands as part of our fresh water network and have been recognized for their success. For example, in 2019, Dar and David Don C. Brunell New were named Business analyst the National Tree GUEST COLUMN Farmers of the Year. One of the highlights contained in their nomination was the salmon spawning grounds restoration project on their 165acre forest near Bellingham. In May, Kate Zerrenner, a writer for Triple Pundit, called small landowners the untapped heroes in the fight against climate change. “About 10.7 million ownerships from individuals, families, trusts and estates

account for 36% of U.S. forests (approximately 290 million acres). Despite their essential role in the management and sustainability of forested land, these family forest owners are often left out of the majority of carbon reduction schemes,” Zerrenner wrote. “However, that is changing. Through a partnership between The Nature Conservancy and the American Forest Foundation, the Family Forest Carbon Program is providing small family forest owners with knowledge, incentives and new market opportunities that have the ability to meaningfully reduce the impacts of climate change,“ Zerrenner added. Washington has a long tradition of tree farming. The nation’s first tree farm was designated near Montesano in 1941. Since then, the American Tree Farm System has grown to 77,000 family woodland owners managing 20.5 million acres of forests. These families make their living by

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growing, managing, harvesting and replanting trees which in turn provide wildlife habitats, protect water quality, salmon and steelhead spawning streams and freshen the air we breathe. In a day when we are all concerned about climate change, well-managed working forests improve the environment by absorbing carbon dioxide — a greenhouse gas —and producing oxygen. That carbon dioxide is locked in the trees and surrounding soil — a so-called “carbon sink.” Researchers have found that younger, faster growing trees and trees in thinned forests metabolize carbon dioxide rapidly. While most tree farms are small, some are quite large. For example, Weyerhaeuser manages millions of forested acres in Washington alone. Others are sizeable family-owned and have passed from generation to generation. For example, in northeast Washington, uBRUNELL, Page A7

TRI-CITIES AREA JOURNAL OF BUSINESS | JULY 2021

uBUSINESS BRIEFS

Is your business on a roll?

The Tri-City Regional Chamber of Commerce is accepting nominations for its annual Business on a Roll awards through July 23. The 2021 program recognizes businesses that achieved success in 2020. There are three categories, for 10 employees or less, 11-50 employees and 51 or more employees. Winners will be honored at the chamber’s annual meeting and awards luncheon, 11 am.-1 p.m. Aug. 25 at the Three Rivers Convention Center in Kennewick. Apply at tricityregionalchamber.com/ business-on-a-roll-nomination-form. html. Applicants must be members of the

regional chamber. Nominees are required to provide financial results related to their operations in Benton and Franklin counties, as well as percent net revenue growth, employee numbers and other data.

Kennewick names new online high school

The Kennewick School District Board of Directors has chosen Endeavor High School as the name of the district’s new online high school. The name is meant to symbolize that the online school is a new endeavor for students and the district to promote hard work, a sense of hope and the pursuit of achieving common goals for the future. It also fits with the names of the district’s

student choice high school programs, Phoenix and Legacy, creating a symmetry among the three of looking at the past and into the future. The public helped with the naming process by submitting more than 150 suggestions. A committee of district staff and community members forwarded three to the board for consideration. Endeavor High School is set to launch in the fall for students in grades 9-12. Information at https://bit.ly/3x52ama.

Richland nuclear plant refueled, repaired, restarted

Energy Northwest’s Columbia Generating Station reconnected to the Northwest power grid at 12:25 a.m. June 19 following its 25th refueling outage.

During the weekslong outage, more than 1,400 skilled temporary workers performed preventative maintenance and major system upgrades to the nuclear plant. The plant shuts down temporarily every two years to add fresh nuclear fuel to the reactor core. Operators replaced 260 of the plant’s 764 nuclear fuel assemblies. Spent fuel was placed in a fuel pool, where it remains for a minimum of five years to remove residual heat before it is transferred to the on-site dry cask storage facility. The outage also allowed work crews to install a new turbine rotor, replace reactor water cleanup heat exchangers, refurbish a condensate pump and motor and conduct other tasks. The plant has a nameplate generating capacity of 1,207 megawatts. BRUNELL, From page A7 the Mikalson family formed Arden Tree Farms in 1958. It has grown to one of our state’s largest. Trees are America’s renewable resources and sustainable forestry is truly a “green” industry that we all need to encourage. Healthy forests are essential to dealing with global climate change and to provide jobs for rural communities. It is good that tree farmers are recognized as part of the climate solution. They just need a chance to succeed, keep managing their lands in a sustainable way and pass their land to the next generation. Don C. Brunell is a business analyst, writer and columnist. He can be contacted at theBrunells@msn.com.

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that’s aimed at mobilizing industry and government to address the growing worker shortage crisis throughout the country. New surveys and data show there are now half as many available workers for every open job across the country (1.4 available workers per opening) as compared to the historical average over the last 20 years (2.8). In some industries, there are more open jobs than job seekers. The issue has gained urgency as vaccine distribution increased, but an AWB survey showed it was already emerging as an issue in April. Nearly 42% of respondents identified a lack of qualified workers as one of the most important issues facing their business. The America Works agenda identifies several solutions, including immigration reform, expanding employer-led education and training programs and expanding access to child care for working parents. Since the start of the pandemic, employers have demonstrated a remarkable ability to adapt and innovate. It’s clear the need for those skills isn’t going away even after it fades away. As the economy continues to recover, it’s also clear that we’re in a race for talent. The states and regions with the strongest economies will be the ones with the most skilled and educated workers. Kris Johnson is president of the Association of Washington Business, the state’s chamber of commerce and manufacturers association.

This article was written by Edward Jones for use by your local Edward Jones Financial Advisor.

uBUSINESS BRIEF

State loosens rules for employees under 21

The State Liquor and Cannabis Board has adopted temporary rules allowing liquor establishments to employ workers ages 18-20 for duties that are not associated with serving or selling alcohol. The temporary rule change is meant to provide relief from pandemic-related workforce shortages. The following parameters must be followed: • The employee is at least 18 years of age. • The employee holds a position that is not directly involved in the sale or service of alcohol (such as washing dishes, cooking or cleaning). • The employee does not perform work in the bar, lounge or dining areas. • The employee does not serve food, drinks or interact with guests. • The employee is not in possession of alcohol during any time. • A supervisor who is at least 21 years of age is present at all times. The temporary allowance is set to expire on Sept. 30.

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BANKING & INVESTMENTS

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Community First renovates building for new branch after busy pandemic year By Kristina Lord

publisher@tcjournal.biz

Community First Bank couldn’t pass up the opportunity to buy a vacant bank property at the intersection of Swift Boulevard and Jadwin Avenue in Richland. It wasn’t looking to move but when its lease came due for renewal at 1060 Jadwin Ave., where it’s been located for 15 years, it made sense to buy instead of lease. A bonus is the property has more visibility. “It was one of those no brainer decisions to do that,” said Jim Arneson, chief operating officer. The bank bought the property at 1007 Jadwin Ave. for $1.3 million from Yakima Federal Savings & Loan last June and plans to spend $1 million in tenant improvements. A fall completion date is planned. “We’re making an investment in Richland to stay,” Arneson said. The bulk of renovation plans for the 7,200-square-foot building, built in 1970, are for exterior improvements to modernize the look of the building, though some modifications will be made inside. “Like most construction projects, we’re watching material ordering right now with shortages and everything else, so we can get all materials when we need them. So far it’s looking pretty good,” Arneson said. The building’s familiar brick work will remain, but most of the windows will be replaced and the addition of a larger vestibule on the Swift Boulevard side facing the intersection will have the

Courtesy Archibald and Co. Community First Bank is renovating the building at 1007 Jadwin Ave. in Richland with plans to open in the fall. It will close its branch just down the road at 1060 Jadwin Ave.

appearance of a main entry, though there will be entrances on both sides. The old mansard-style roof has been removed and new fascia will be installed around the upper portion that’s more in line with the neighborhood’s style. The branch is across the street from the new Richland City Hall and a multi-tenant building home to Jimmy John’s and TeaHaus. “What you will see emerging is modern and in concert with those looks,” Arneson said. The bank’s drive-thru area will be redesigned to match the main building. MH Construction Inc. is the contractor. Archibald and Co. is the architect. The larger branch will be able to accommodate additional staff, which is becoming increasingly necessary as Com-

munity First grows.

Post-PPP growth Since Community First Bank’s 2016 merger with HFG Trust, the organization’s key growth metrics have been trending upward – and last year’s pandemic only increased the momentum. The Kennewick-based bank, established in 1997, has more than doubled its employees since 2015, from 58 to 122.

It acquired a Berkley, Californiabased two-person firm in April 2021, Prime Wealth Management, an investment advisory firm with offices located in Berkeley, California, and Roseburg, Oregon. As the bank headed into the pandemic, bank assets totaled $353 million and wealth management assets totaled $752 million. The coronavirus relief bill pumped money into the economy but first it flowed through banks. “It’s really what set our growth in motion,” said Community First Bank CEO Eric Pearson. Between 2019 and 2021, Community First Bank’s bank assets grew 65%, and HFG Trust’s wealth management assets by 45%. Bank assets have increased 116% since 2015, totaling $583 million in 2021, up from $269 million in 2015. Wealth assets under management soared 236% from 2015, totaling $1.1 billion, up from $325 million. As the pandemic shutdowns took hold last year, Pearson worried about the fate of the government-backed Paycheck

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BANKING & INVESTMENTS

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Here’s a halftime report on investing in 2021 “Exciting” isn’t the word most people use when describing market and investment conditions, but it fits the description for the first half of 2021. GameStop dominated the news cycle for weeks, and its controversy culminated in congressional hearings. Distant relatives morphed into CNBC commentators as they waited for the price of Dogecoin to skyrocket after Elon Musk’s appearance on Saturday Night Live. If you missed these developments, you’re in luck. We have the highlights. Some might be worth discussing with a trusted advisor, while others are more entertaining in the Dutch-tulip-bulb mania sense – at least from an outsider’s perspective. (Tulipmania refers to a famous Dutch bubble and crash in the mid-1600s where speculation drove the value of tulip bulbs to extremes.)

Meme stocks What do AMC and GameStop have in common? If you answered fierce competition to their business model from disruptive technologies, you’d be correct, but we are not talking about business fundamentals. In January, the investing public was shocked to see shares of GameStop surge in pricing as internet forum users on Reddit coordinated buying to punish hedge fund managers who had shorted GameStop shares.

At the start of the year GameStop was trading at $17.25 per share before reaching a high of $483 at the peak of Redditor mania. Nicholas Haberling The phenomCommunity First enon has proven Bank & HFG Trust to have legs with GUEST COLUMN GameStop still trading in the low $200s as of this writing.

Small-cap value Back in 1990, economists Eugene Fama and Kenneth French set out to determine whether some stocks had characteristics that allowed them to consistently outperform the market – perhaps not in every quarter, but more often than not. This research led to the discovery of the small-cap premium which highlighted the performance of small and value companies. This premium was fairly understood until the financial crisis of 2008. Since then, growth companies like Facebook and Amazon have outperformed small-cap value. That was until the first two quarters of 2021 when small-cap value outperformed growth stocks by its widest margin in decades. Cryptocurrencies If you didn’t know about cryptocurrencies and blockchain prior to 2021, you

have most certainly heard about them by now. Bitcoin began its meteoric rise in the fall of 2020 from $11,000 to a peak of roughly $63,000 this past April. Due to myriad issues, it has since declined to the mid-$30,000s, but not before dragging up every other cryptocurrency – from the theoretically practical Ethereum to the absurd Dogecoin – in its wake. To add to the FOMO (fear of missing out) speculation in cryptocurrencies, NFTS (non-fungible tokens) of memes and other internet artifacts are being sold for hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Residential real estate In May, the median price for existing homes surpassed $350,000 for the first time. In keeping with the times, there are numerous factors driving the intense residential real estate market. Some of these factors are well understood and uncontroversial: shutdowns leading to a lumber shortage and slowdown of new home construction, young renters wanting to transition to home ownership, etc. Others are more controversial and may have long-tail effects, such as the increased interest of institutional money managers in home rentals and NIMBYism (not in my back yard). It’s not clear how large a role investment firms are playing in the housing market, but they caught headlines in April when it was revealed that entire neighbor-

hoods may be up for grabs with Fundrise LLC purchasing a neighborhood of 124 rental homes in Texas last winter. Additionally, economists on both sides of the political aisle have argued that NIMBYism has played the biggest role in housing constraints with current homeowners not wanting to live by the various housing developments that could alleviate some of the supply constraints. NIMBYism is the housing equivalent of the nuclear energy problem. All reasonable people know it’s an important and emission-free energy source, but no one wants to live by a nuclear reactor (with the exception of our wonderful community). Similarly, everyone likes the idea of reasonable housing prices, but no one wants to live by an affordable architectural style that risks lowering their own home’s value.

Inflation “The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated.” This could be either a quote from Mark Twain or the disembodied voice of inflation with May’s Consumer Price Index up 5% year-over-year. This was the largest increase since August 2008. What remains to be identified are the elements of this inflation that are transitory versus sticky. Transitory inflation would include items for which there is a supply and demand disconnect. Think of

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Protection Program, part of the federal coronavirus rescue plan, calling it a nerve-wracking time. Would the government back the loans? Would it break the bank if it didn’t? There were a lot more questions than answers at the time, but Pearson said the bank and its board knew they had to step up for the community. “The market was cratering and there were lots of concern about the economy and for us that’s of heightened concern. We have a lot of small business clients … and our core business is making loans on the bank side,” he said. The bank geared up to handle the volume of requests for the loans and got to work, putting in long, un-bankerly hours. Employees processed more than 1,000 PPP loans, with 680 in the first round. “We thought we’d do $100 million loans at the time. We wound up with $330 million,” Pearson said. Most have been forgiven, too. Of those 1,000 loans, all but less than 20 have been forgiven, with some partially forgiven, Pearson said.

Looking ahead The bank expects to see forgiveness for the majority of the second-round loans still on the books by the end of the third quarter. “I’m hoping by the end of this year, we might only have 10 to 15 total PPP loans on our books. It’ll be the end of the PPP story. I can’t imagine another round

coming,” Pearson said. He called the program a success in spurring the economy. “(That money) is still out there,” he said. The success of the bank’s efforts to secure PPP loans also had an unintended consequence – it gained the loyalty of new customers. “We started winning business from clients who banked elsewhere,” Pearson said. On the financial management side, under HFG Trust, customers sought advice and counsel on how to manage their money when the market turned turbulent, Pearson said. Its financial services arm also grew, with more money in the system and liquidity, thanks to the stimulus program. Casting forward, Pearson said the organization will look at strategic acquisitional growth. “It’s the most efficient way to expand,” he said, explaining it doesn’t take a lot of time, capital or technology to open a wealth management office. “It doesn’t take a lot of resources out of our market.” He said continuing to diversify its revenue stream so there’s a good balance between wealth management, banking and mortgages also is key. Pearson said the organization will remain measured in its approach to change but said its recent experience with being able to adapt rapidly, as was the case with processing the PPP loans, shows it can handle change just fine.

BANKING & INVESTMENTS

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Numerica plans to open new Court Street branch in coming year By Kristina Lord

publisher@tcjournal.biz

Numerica Credit Union recently bought property on busy Court Street in Pasco with plans open a new branch. The Spokane Valley-based credit union paid $940,000 in May for the 1,400-square-foot building at 2307 W. Court St. that serves as home to BaskinRobbins. Numerica plans to demolish the ice cream shop and build a new branch that will be larger than its Sylvester Street branch, between 3,000 to 4,000 square feet, said Andy Stirling, Numerica’s senior vice president of Central Washington. He said the credit union hopes to break ground at the beginning of 2022 but is considering adding ATM machines at the Court Street property before then so members “get used to banking with us in that location,” he said. Stirling said the Pasco property is shaped like a Tetris piece. The section that extends north-south will be for the branch office and parking and the section that’s east-west will be the ingress/egress for the ATMs. The new building will be similar in style to Richland’s and the Southridge branch in Kennewick. Numerica’s lease with Baskin-Robbins

uBUSINESS BRIEFS

Walmart debuts cash payment platform

Walmart is teaming with the PayNearMe mobile payments app to let customers pay utility, rent, car payments and other bills in cash at the same place they shop for groceries and household items.

ends in September. Stirling said the busy Court Street location is a great spot to serve its Pasco members. Numerica made a commitment to its membership and board of directors to remain in the former Monad Federal Credit Union building at 1817 Sylvester St., “while we looked for something more appropriate to serve our membership out there.” “It’s great for now but knew we needed bigger and better,” he said. The credit union acquired the 63-yearold one-branch Monad in a merger in 2018 for $14.8 million, adding its 2,500 members. Monad was organized and chartered in 1955 by a group employed by the Northern Pacific Railway. The Sylvester Street property isn’t conducive to an ATM, as it’s tough for traffic to get in and out of the property, Stirling said. It also isn’t ADA compliant. Six employees staff the branch. The future of the Sylvester Street building isn’t certain. Stirling envisions using it as extra space to accommodate Numerica’s growing workforce. The credit union grew its staff by 3% in the last two years to 576 employees at the end of 2020, up from 559 at the end of 2018. Numerica grew by four branches in last four years and continues to keep an eye The program, which rolls out in August, will let cash customers show a scannable code on their smartphone at the store’s MoneyCenter desk, pay with cash and then collect a receipt that confirms a payment has been made. The system distributes funds electronically to the recipients. Michael Kaplan, chief revenue officer and general manager for PayNearMe, said the service caters to the people who

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Photo by TCAJOB Numerica Credit Union plans to demolish the 37-year-old Baskin-Robbins ice cream building at 2307 Court St. in Pasco later this year to make way for a new branch office in the coming year.

on the market. “Numerica continues to actively look for growth opportunities in and around our footprint,” Stirling said. Numerica’s total assets grew 33% between 2018-20 – more than $3 billion at the end of 2020, up from $2.3 billion at the end of 2018. The credit union also increased its membership by 9% – 160,000 members in 2020, up from 146,400 in

2018. Numerica had a 106% increase in mortgage activity between 2018 and 2020, funding $371 million in home mortgage loans at the end of 2020, up from $180 million in 2018. Business loan balances increased 40% increase over the same two-year period – $845 million in 2020, up from $602 million in 2018.

prefer or need to pay bills in cash. PayNearMe is partnering with Green Dot (NYSE: GDOT) to enable growth.

consecutive appearance on the list. More than 600 institutions were considered. Baker Boyer was founded in 1869 and marked its 150th anniversary in 2019. It is the oldest independentlyowned community bank with seven branches, including wealth management and business banking offices in Yakima and Kennewick. It has 190 employees and more than $700 million in assets.

Baker Boyer is a Top 200 Community Bank, again

Walla Walla-based Baker Boyer ranked No. 91 on American Banker magazine’s “Top 200 Publicly Traded Community Banks” for 2021, its 14th

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HABERLING, From page A13 the aforementioned lumber prices and food stuffs at the grocery store. A portion of the present price increases is due to a disconnect of pent-up demand and the supply constraints of getting mills and processing facilities back into full production. The real question is which parts of the price increases are sticky and here to stay. Employee wages are certainly at the top of the list when it comes to increases in sticky prices. These increased costs likely will be passed on to consumers. Nicholas Haberling is a partnership advisor at Community First Bank & HFG Trust in Kennewick.

uBUSINESS BRIEFS

Gesa grants, debit cards for Local Heroes

Gesa Credit Union has launched a $100,000 Local Heroes grant program in tandem with a new debit card that supports health care workers. The Richland-based financial institution will award grants of up to $5,000 to organizations that support local heroes, including firefighters, law enforcement, teachers and veterans in Washington. Gesa kicked off the program with $1,000 “spark” donations to the Foundation for Edmonds School District, Walla Walla Fire Department, Volunteers of America Eastern Washington and Northern Idaho, the Pasco Police Department Foundation and Wellness House in Yakima.

BANKING & INVESTMENTS To qualify, applicants must provide proof the grant money will directly support one of Gesa’s outlined Local Heroes populations in a community where Gesa has a physical office or branch. Go to gesa.com/community/localheroes. In a related move, Gesa has established a Healthcare Heroes debit card. Each time the card is used, Gesa will make a donation to organizations that support healthcare workers through the Local Heroes grant program. Gesa members can request the card at no cost by mail or in-person at any branch.

State offers K-12 student finance education lessons

If your kids are complaining they’re bored now that school is out, consider helping them develop their personal finance prowess. The Washington State Department of Financial Institutions offers a financial education resource page for parents and educators of K-12 students. Research from the University of Cambridge indicates money habits – whether “spenders” or “savers” – is set around age 7, and that it becomes more difficult with each passing year to change those habits. “We want to make sure Washington youth have every opportunity to develop strong financial knowledge and habits as they grow,” said DFI Director Charlie Clark in a news release. “This new resource page builds on what DFI’s financial education and outreach team created last year to help families and educators with the learn-at-home transition.”

Find the activity pages at dfi.wa.gov/ financial-education/fun-clusters. They are broken into the following categories: K-2, 3-5, 6-8 and 9-12 and include web-based and printable documents, videos and games.

DFI advises industry to brace for climate change impacts

On the heels of a record-breaking heat wave in the state, the Washington State Department of Financial Institutions (DFI) issued an alert to financial services industries emphasizing the important role they play in addressing climate change as a systemic risk. “Our financial systems operate in an increasingly complex world in which systemic risks magnify threats to our economic stability and vitality,” DFI Director Charlie Clark notes in the alert. “The purpose of this alert is to … emphasize and affirm the importance of responding to climate change as a systemic risk, and to begin discussions with stakeholders on how DFI can support its regulated entities in efforts to better understand and address climate change.” “While DFI is not today announcing new rules or guidance,” Clark continued, “we ask that Washington State financial institutions, and state-chartered depositary institutions in particular, begin discussions about how to integrate climate change risks into their governance, risk management, and strategic plans.” The DFI is working with Ceres, a sustainability focused nonprofit organization, to provide updates and offer best practices.

BANKING & INVESTMENTS

Q&A Number of employees you oversee: 151 employees, 8 directors and 440 shareholders. Brief background of your business: Wheatland Bank is a locally-owned, full-service community bank headquartered in Spokane, with 14 branches throughout eastern and central Washington and over 400 local shareholders. Wheatland Bank was founded in Davenport, Washington, by local people 42 years ago to serve the needs of the local community of farmers and businesses with specialized agricultural and business banking expertise. Wheatland Bank is a full-service commercial and consumer bank but is still the only agriculturally-specialized bank in the state, according to the Federal Reserve’s definition of 30% or more of its portfolio in agriculture loans. Wheatland Bank focuses on helping businesses, farmers, ranchers and consumers succeed by offering the highest quality personalized banking relationships and customized lending, banking, residential lending and wealth management services. A strong independent reflection of Wheatland Bank’s continued success is the fact that it has earned the coveted 5-Star Superior rating from BauerFinancial Inc., the nation’s leading independent bank rating firm for 57 consecutive quarters putting it in an even more prominent position as an “exceptional performance bank.” How did you land your current role? How long have you been in the banking industry? Prior to joining Wheatland Bank in 1999, I was a partner in a regional CPA firm managing a financial institution audit and consulting practice including Wheatland Bank. At the age of 37, Wheatland heavily recruited me to be its president and as things progressed, finally handed me a napkin over a lunch meeting that said, “Whatever it takes.” After considering the opportunity to really apply all I had learned in terms of best practices in the industry to one institution and to create enhanced value for its customers, shareholders, employees and community at large, it was an offer I just couldn’t refuse. The board and I developed a strategic plan for growth and expansion as an independent community bank. Since then we have experienced tremendous growth and prosperity by staying true to our core values of serving customers with a high touch level of personalized service and customized solutions, with state-of-the-art technology to complement, but not replace, the human interaction customers still desire and deserve. Leading Wheatland Bank for the past 23 years has been everything (and much more than) I ever anticipated, providing a highly rewarding and stimulating career serving our communities and helping people and businesses achieve their goals and dreams.

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SUSAN M. HORTON, CPA President and CEO Wheatland Bank

What is Wheatland’s presence in the Tri-Cities? Why should the community know about what you do? Wheatland Bank expanded into the TriCities just over five years ago and already has over $200 million in loans and deposits in that market, making it the single largest and most successful branch in the Wheatland Bank network! Much of this success goes back to the hiring of our Tri-Cities team leader and SVP, Steve Lancaster, whose lifelong service to the agriculture community in the Tri-Cities has created a following of the highest quality producers and business owners in the region. Steve recruited a local team of exceptional and very experienced bankers who provide full-service commercial and consumer banking to the greater Tri-Cities. What was the biggest challenge you faced due to the Covid-19 pandemic? We were well prepared, having just updated our Pandemic Disaster Recovery Plans and had already adopted a secure Virtual Private Network (VPN) to allow remote work. But it had only been tested by a handful of employees in IT and senior management. The greatest challenge was purchasing, training and installing remote virtual

workstations for the majority of our employees at their homes within just a few days. But, because of our preparedness and planning, we never missed a beat and were able to provide full banking services to customers and process all mission critical functions of the bank without interruption. What was the biggest opportunity and how did it change your organization? The most rewarding accomplishment this past year has been delivering over $120 million in Paycheck Protection Loans (PPP) loans to our local communities, saving over 10,000 jobs and helping existing and new customers keep their doors open and paychecks in their employees’ hands and food on their families’ tables. Because we make decisions locally, we were able to respond quicker than most banks, and worked day and night building out an internally developed process so we could react immediately to processing PPP applications before the funds ran out in the first round. Many other institutions were not ready

Susan M. Horton

and did not help their long-term customers, which drove many new customers to Wheatland. We were able to take immediate care of them and get them the lifeline they needed. Because of our approach and personal service during this crisis, we have experienced record growth and cemented customer relationships for the long term. This has been some of the most rewarding work in our history and the feedback from customers has been so fulfilling. We believe this has contributed directly to Wheatland Bank’s growth of nearly 43%

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HORTON, From page A17 from December 31, 2019, to $657 million in total assets today. What is the biggest challenge facing business owners/managers today? Short term: How to fully recover from the effects of the pandemic and to find the “new normal,” including how to motivate and lead in a more virtual work world, especially in a tight labor market with ongoing risks of a high percentage of still unvaccinated workers. Long term: Succession planning for closely-held businesses to address ownership, management and family wealth transition issues. If you had a magic wand, what would you change about the financial industry? Level the playing field by taxing credit unions, which currently pay $0 federal corporate taxes and no Washington state Business and Occupation (B&O) taxes, yet perform the same commercial banking functions as all tax paying banks. Most people are not aware that their credit union, which makes hundreds of millions of dollars of profit each year, does not pay one dime of income tax. This unfair advantage has fueled the taxfree growth of credit unions, is constantly depleting the future federal and state tax rolls and is contributing to the consolidation and shrinking number of banks in Washington who find it harder and harder to compete fairly. The FDIC is interested in reducing the number of U.S. households that are unbanked. Is this an area of interest to Wheatland? What initiatives have you undertaken here? As a locally-owned community bank, Wheatland continues to be concerned about the number of households that are unbanked in the markets that we serve and throughout the country. The primary concern is the financial impact on those households as a result of them being reliant on alternative financial products and services – such as payday loans, check cashing services and money orders – to take care of their finances. At Wheatland Bank, we do offer a free personal checking product that provides access to a wide variety of services such as a debit card, online banking and bill pay at no cost to our customers. The minimum opening deposit is just

$100 and there are no monthly services charges. If a customer is not eligible to open a checking account due to issues with overdrafts or charge offs at another institution, they still would have the option to open a personal savings account at Wheatland. In addition to the products offered by Wheatland, we also are very proud to have received an “outstanding” rating on our most recent Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) exam conducted by the FDIC in 2020. As one of only two intermediate small institutions in Washington to earn this rating on its most recent exam, the rating indicates that Wheatland Bank has an outstanding record of helping to meet the credit needs of our assessment area. This includes serving low- and moderateincome neighborhoods in a manner consistent with our resources and capabilities. What advice would you give someone going into a leadership position for the first time? Always lead with integrity and empathy, be brave, trust yourself and your experience, have a whatever-it-takes attitude, be open and share information, and communicate regularly with your team. Be collaborative in your approach with your team and together develop a strategic plan for your company or department by asking them what is working, what isn’t, what opportunities and problems they see that need to be addressed. This will show them you not only respect their ideas but also will help to get their buy-in if they are part of the strategic planning process. How do you keep your employees (or team members) motivated? Frequent and open communication so everyone knows the strategic vision for the bank and their role in it, as well as our progress toward our goals. Wheatland Bank is unique because over 25% of the bank is owned by employees through our Employee Stock Ownership Plan, stock options and direct stock purchases. It has been part of our success story to develop from within and to provide upward career opportunities for our employees to support their development and our growth. How did you decide to pursue a career in the financial services industry? “The early bird gets the worm.”

BANKING & INVESTMENTS As a young Washington State University graduate, I accepted a job with Deloitte (previously Touche Ross) in its Seattle office and was to begin in September with a new group of 24 young college graduates pursuing careers as CPAs. They wrote to our group and asked for two volunteers to start early in June for some special projects. So excited to begin, I accepted that request and moved over early to begin before the rest of my starting class of graduates. That single decision made the biggest difference in the direction of my career because that special summer project was all Securities and Exchange Commission bank work. By the time the rest of my class began in September, I was already earmarked as the banking specialist of the starting class of graduates. From that day forward I specialized in financial institution audits, SEC work and consulting work and then was recruited by one of my clients to be the president of Wheatland Bank.

communications. However, I always put my family first – scheduling in time to volunteer in my child’s classroom, never missing her academic or extracurricular events and am always there when my family needs me. I also learned to blend the two by taking my young daughter and retired mother with me on business trips and adding on vacation at the end of bank conferences in Hawaii, etc. As a widow and single mom, my employees got used to seeing my daughter occasionally at the office after school or at branch grand openings. But it set the tone and the culture for working women to succeed as executives in our bank and for all employees to know it’s OK to put your family first! Providing flexibility to your employees when they have difficulties in their lives and the freedom to deal with them will create lasting long-term loyalty and job satisfaction, which in turn will help create happy well-served customers.

How do you measure success in your workplace? The foundation of our long-term strategic plan is to enhance value for our customers, communities, shareholders and employees with a balanced approach to growth and profits. We measure our progress and performance against industry benchmarks and trends on a regular basis. But we realize it’s really all about the people, starting with excellent employees who really care about our customers and work hard to serve them with the 5-star service every customer deserves. We are blessed to have such exceptional customers who are honest, hardworking and successful in what they do. Retaining and growing customer relationships and key employee talent are the two of the most important things because if you do those two things well, and lead with integrity and hard work, the financial results and lasting success will come.

What do you like to do when you are not at work? Spend time with family and friends on our horse ranch, horseback riding with my daughter, traveling abroad and in the U.S., and during my busy workdays, walking in Spokane’s beautiful Riverfront Park and weight training with a personal trainer during my lunch hours at least a few days a week.

How do you balance work and family life? In my role as CEO, there are few boundaries, and I am never really disconnected from the bank or my work. With technology, it seems like we are never able to turn it off like we used to before all the devices and remote capabilities, and expectations for rapid response

What’s your best time management strategy? When you are in management, it is even more important to make sure that all the employees you are responsible for supervising are working efficiently and productively. So as a leader, it is just as, or more important really, to make sure that the entire team is managing time and working productively and efficiently. But in general, my time management strategies include putting more time and effort up front into planning than execution because if you plan well and allocate the right amount of effort and resources to the planning stage of any process or project, it will save time in the end and ensure a better experience for the customer or team and ultimately a better outcome. This was instilled in me in public accounting and when done properly eliminates stress and frustrations, reduces errors and wasted time and creates great results for everyone involved. Best tip to relieve stress? Take a break, go for a walk and get some fresh air outside and listen to your favorite playlist on Spotify. What’s your most-used app? My favorite app is the Wheatland Bank mobile app! My other most used app, besides the social media apps we all surf when we have time, is the Good Reader app, which allows me and the other members of my executive loan committee to review and annotate lengthy financial loan packages in a paperless, safe and secure manner. Do you have a personal mantra, phrase or quote you like to use? Whatever it takes!

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Buying stocks or bonds to earn income? Here’s how that works One common concern for investors is seeking a reliable source of passive income. Sometimes it is not immediately evident to those investors that an investment account can easily produce passive income. Many investors who are new to investing in the broader stock market like to evaluate the investment alongside other investments for which they have a better understanding. For example, an investor might own a rental property. The investor understands the assets (the rental property) and understands the income paid in the form of a monthly rental check. This monthly income provides a reliable and regular paycheck that the investor can count on as income. That same investor sometimes grapples with “income” generated through the investment account. Also, it’s worth discussing just how an investment account can generate “income.” Let’s assume a client has a non-retirement investment account with $1 million in it and it is allocated 60% to stocks (in the form of equity mutual funds) and 40% to bonds (in the form of bond mutual funds). The “income” can come from three places.

Interest from bonds First, bonds pay interest income on the money invested. Individual bonds can pay interest annually, semiannually, quarterly or even monthly. When pooled together in a mutual fund, the mutual fund likely will pay the interest earned to the investor on a monthly basis. So, the first source of income is the interest on bonds. Dividend payments The second source of income is from dividend payments. As a reminder, some of the companies which are owned in the mutual fund pay (typically) quarterly dividends to the owners of the stocks. Not all companies pay dividends and the amount paid varies from company to company. The portfolio also can be specifically developed to allow for greater dividend payments or less dividend payments (depending on the companies or the funds chosen). These dividends are typically reinvested in your accumulation years but then paid to cash for spending in your retirement years. Partial holdings sales The third source of income is from partial sales of the holdings in the account. This one is perhaps the least intuitive and requires the most explanation. As an example, we will pick a company that doesn’t currently pay dividends. Let’s say that the investor owns 1,000 shares of ABC Company that has a current stock value of $100 per share for a total ownership value of $100,000. Let’s also assume for purposes of this example that the company will follow, more or less, the long-term trajectory of the stock market and provide returns averaging 9% a year. Accordingly, after the first year, the 1,000 shares are worth $109,000 ($109 a share). To create income at year end, the investor could sell 40 shares of ABC Company. This would result in the investor owning 960 shares of ABC Company valued at

$104,640 and a resulting “income” to the investor of the value of the shares sold or $4,360. It’s notable that, even though the invesBeau Ruff tor sold a portion Cornerstone of her holdWealth Strategies ings, the overall GUEST COLUMN holdings are still valued at a level higher than when she started investing. Of course, it isn’t wise to rely on one stock for income. But when the portfolio

is appropriately diversified and includes many companies such as ABC Company, it can become a much more reliable source of “income.” This third source of “income” can be structured so that the payments come to the investor on a monthly basis, just like rent would be delivered on the first of every month. One common rule of thumb for an investment account is the 4% rule. That is, if a person has a broadly diversified portfolio, he or she should be able to take out 4% of the value of the portfolio (combined interest, dividends and sales) every year: without the portfolio running out of money ever; and allowing for the

portfolio to grow commensurate with the rate of inflation. This rule of thumb is just that – an imprecise tool to assist in determining an answer. Sometimes, the current market environment may suggest another rule. Once investors understand those three sources of income, they are usually more comfortable with the investment in stock and better able to compare the investment in the market to other investments like real estate. Beau Ruff, a licensed attorney, is the director of planning at Cornerstone Wealth Strategies, a full-service independent investment management and financial planning firm in Kennewick.

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Visit Tri-Cities drops membership dues as it pivots to storytelling model By Wendy Culverwell editor@tcjournal.biz

Visit Tri-Cities, the tax- and fee- funded agency responsible for putting heads in hotel beds, is dropping its paid membership model in favor of a storytelling approach that includes high-quality videos and images. The shift away from the $250 “basic” membership program ($185 for nonprofits) began before the Covid-19 pandemic knocked the industry to its knees. The shutdown only accelerated its desire to shine a light on people, places and things that are relevant to visitors, said Michael Novakovich, president and chief executive officer. “If we’re not talking about the whole community, how are we going to bounce back?” he said. It bought high-quality camera equipment, including a drone and 360-degree cameras, and trained an employee to be a certified drone pilot. The new approach makes its formal debut in early August, when Visit Tri-Cities debuts a website that is lighter on text and stagnant content and heavier on dynamic content that includes videos and a new focus on videos and profiles at its current address, visittri-cities.com. Different products target tourists, travel writers, event planners and sports tournament organizers. The annual Visitor’s Guide is a telling example of how it is altering its approach. The annual guide included an extensive directory of members, a phone book style approach that didn’t suit visitors and was all but useless in the era of smartphones. While Visit Tri-Cities appreciated having non-tourism businesses such as plumbers as members, listing them in a visitor guide did little to further its heads-in-beds mission. “Visitors don’t care,” he said. Instead, the guide will be released seasonally with content that reflects what’s happening in the community, be it the annual Water Follies or Spring Barrel Tasting

Courtesy Visit Tri-Cities Snow cones and live music at Richland’s John Dam Plaza are a visitor and local favorite on a sunny summer day in the Tri-Cities. Visit Tri-Cities is dropping most paid memberships in favor of a storytelling model that focuses on the people, places and things that are most interesting to tourists, travel writers, meeting planners and tournament organizers.

or any of the myriad activities on the civic calendar each year. Novakovich said dropping the paid basic membership model will free staff from the challenge of selling memberships and chasing unpaid dues. The agency will depend on its traditional sponsors, such as Battelle, Washington River Protection Solutions and Bechtel National, as well as visitor taxes and paid advertising on its products to support its budget. Tourism-related businesses, including restaurants, retailers, beverage and eating establishments and sports-oriented venues can apply for free memberships. Novakovich hopes that some of the non-paying members will use the money they formerly allocated to membership dues to advertise in its online and print publications. The shift away from what he called a chamber of commerce-style membership model is not unique to the Tri-Cities. Nationally, tourism agencies are moving away from a membership focus to a storytelling one. For the local one, the pandemic helped accelerate the change.

1304 E. Hillsboro St., Pasco, WA (509) 545-8420 • skoneirrigation.com

“Covid provided a lot of opportunity,” Novakovich said. The opportunity of course came with a downside. Pandemic-related closures hammered the tourism industry. Tasting rooms, museums and the other visitor-friendly destinations shut down. Visit Tri-Cities

deferred membership dues for its most affected members. Local tourism spending had a $345 million impact in 2020, down 30% from the record $490 million impact in 2019, when the industry supported 5,600 local jobs. Revenue Per Available Room, or RevPAR, a common industry metric, was down 6% compared to a year ago, with the caveat that the market added more than 300 hotel rooms so average room revenue was probably going to fall anyway. Nationally, leisure travel is expected to return to 2019 levels by 2022. In the Tri-Cities, sports tourism is leading the revival. The Mid-Columbia was already a popular locale for sports tournaments. Event organizers were quick to book events when Washington reopened on June 30 after 15 months of restrictions on gatherings to prevent the spread of coronavirus. “As soon as the gates were open, they were able to book events here on short notice,” said Hector Cruz, vice president for sports marketing. A recent National Softball Association of Washington tournament brought 100 teams to town to play more than 200 uVISIT TRI-CITIES, Page A24

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VISIT TRI-CITIES, From page A23 games – during the hottest weeks of June. Organizers rescheduled around the heat, but the games went on, with the champion named by Sunday evening. The influx filled local hotels to an occupancy rate of more than 95%. Those visitors filled restaurants, stores and other local businesses. The Wild West Bass Trail Columbia River Pro Am series in late July is expected to bring nearly 500 boats to town, and of course, Water Follies is back on. But business travel will not revive until 2024, according to projections by U.S. Travel Association, a research firm. “The pandemic sucked the wind out of the sails in that regard,” Novakovich said.

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New grads can enter airline ticket giveaway

Courtesy Water Follies One of the Tri-Cities’ signature events, Water Follies, returns July 23-25 after being canceled in 2020. It attracts thousands to the riverside for hydroplane races and an air show.

Avelo Air, a new airline that serves the Tri-Cities, is giving away 21 sets of roundtrip airline tickets to 2021 graduates of area high schools, colleges, trade and technical schools. July 20 is the deadline to enter the contest. The winners will receive two roundtrip tickets. The competition is open to anyone 18 and older who lives within 150 miles of the Tri-Cities Airport and graduated in 2021. Go to aveloair.com/grads to enter. Winners will be selected at random by Aug. 17.

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Corvette owners have a wish for Make-A-Wish By Wendy Culverwell editor@tcjournal.biz

Corvettes on the Columbia, a longrunning celebration of all things Corvette and a major fundraiser for Make-A-Wish Alaska & Washington, returns in September after organizers were forced to cancel the 2020 event because of the Covid-19 pandemic. The 3 Rivers Corvette Club will hold the 2021 edition – its 11th – from Sept. 1011. It is normally held in June but is postponed to September as a concession to the lingering effects of the pandemic. The later date gives planners breathing room after the state lifted restrictions on gatherings at the end of June. The delay is the only concession to Covid-19, said Matt Price, president of the club. In his day job, Price is an executive with the McCurley Integrity Dealerships, where his responsibilities include fleet services and overseeing its Corvette program, including new and used sales. A Corvette enthusiast, he drives his 2013 60th anniversary edition daily during the warm months when the combination of rear wheel drive and torque are perfectly suited to hot pavement. “These are cars that are not driven in snow,” he said. The car show, which includes an auction, dinner and other events, raised $145,000 for Make-A-Wish in 2019, making it one of the largest fundraisers for the wish fulfillment charity in the region. The

Courtesy Tom McKenna Corvettes on the Columbia returns to the Tri-Cities in September after being canceled in 2020. Above, a vintage model is displayed during the 2019 gathering, which raised $145,000 for Make-A-Wish Alaska & Washington.

club eked out a modest donation in 2020 even though the event was canceled. Its donations are earmarked to fulfill the wishes of ill children in Eastern Washington, from shopping trips and snowboard outings to Disneyland trips and puppies. “Families here are what it is all about,” Price said. Price hopes to pass along more than $145,000 in 2021, though he said it will be a challenge. The final tally depends on donations as well as a share of per-car sales from McCurley. Thanks to the muchreported computer chip shortage affecting auto manufacturers, car sales have slowed. So, Price is inviting Corvette lovers and

the community to team up to ensure MakeA-Wish gets the support it needs after a year that saw its ability to grant wishes slowed by the pandemic. Price said area residents can donate during the all-Corvette show at Columbia Park in Kennewick. Admission is free. MakeA-Wish will have a tent where it will share heartwarming tales of wishes granted and collect donations. Supporters can contact Price at McCurley or leave checks – made out to Make-A-Wish – at his office at the Pasco Autoplex off Court Street.

Make-A-Wish needs The feel-good nonprofit that grants wishes to children with terminal illnesses

has felt the same pinch as its peers, said Angela Miller, regional director. The inperson events that drive donations were canceled and replaced with virtual ones. Wishes typically fall into four categories. Travel is by far the most popular. Travel is also the least expensive to grant, thanks to widespread support for its mission from the hospitality and travel industries. Travel was cancelled, but it has continued to grant wishes for items, experiences and virtual encounters with celebrities. Miller said travel trailers were the most popular wish during the pandemic, a challenge given the $20,000 price tag and the shortage of recreation vehicles. Miller said the ongoing support from the Corvette show is invaluable. Since it began 12 years ago, the Tri-City event has generated more than $750,000, easily its largest fundraiser in the region, she said. But no thanks to the pandemic, MakeA-Wish has not been able to keep up. It had to postpone 250 travel-related wishes, and because children keep being diagnosed with life-threatening illnesses, it now has 600 wishes on its list. Miller is eager to get back on track. She noted the national organization’s medical advisory team has approved granting travel requests beginning Sept. 15. Besides money, Make-A-Wish has a deep need for volunteers in the Tri-Cities. It takes two volunteers to coordinate each uCORVETTES, Page A26

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CORVETTES, From page A25 wish and, she said, it is the best job in the world. Go to wish.org/akwa.

Fun in sun Corvettes on the Columbia is of course about more than raising money for charity. It brings together Corvette enthusiasts and those with an interest or passion for high-performance muscle cars. “I can’t imagine not owning one,” Price said. He’d been Corvette-less for about five years before he bought his current model in 2016. He’d written out exactly what he wanted in his next car and held onto the scrap of paper for four years. In 2016, a California transplant traded in the 2013 model of Price’s dreams. He

pounced, buying it 10 days before Christmas, to his wife’s dismay. But it was the car listed on his scrap paper. “Down to the calipers,” he said. “Everything was exactly what I was looking for.” At McCurley, he oversees an average of 40 new and used Corvette sales a year, with customers coming from throughout the region to tap into his network of contacts for deals and equipment. He’s presold the next three years’ allocation of new models from the manufacturer and monitors auctions for Corvette listings. In the middle of an interview about the car show, he paused to take a call, then pumped his fist. A McCurley buyer was reporting in after submitting the winning bid for a 2019 Grand Sport convertible. Price wanted

TOURISM it for the dealer’s inventory, knowing it would sell quickly. Even those who prefer new will snap up used ones to get the experience and then trade in when “their” car appears. Price said the Columbia Park show is for Corvettes only, with every model represented. Owners come from five western states and Canada to show their vehicles. “We have to get that border open,” he said, referring to the still-closed (as of press time) U.S.-Canada border. By tradition, each year’s event brochure highlights the winner of the previous event’s People’s Choice competition. For 2021, it is a 2019 blue convertible owned by a Puget Sound area resident.

If you go Friday, Sept. 10 is centered at the Red

Lion Hotel Pasco. Registration and a silent auction open at 9 a.m. There is a wine walk to benefit Make-A-Wish, a pool party and a Corvette Dinner beginning at 5:30 p.m., leading up to a dance at 7:30 p.m. On Saturday, Sept. 11, the action shifts to Columbia Park. The event includes a moment of silence to acknowledge the 9/11 attacks and includes car judging, a lunch with vendors, a concert and more Corvette-related activities. A banquet and concert begin at 5:30 p.m. at the Pasco hotel. Events in the park are free. Registration for the complete event is $160 for singles and $210 for couples. Go to 3riverscorvetteclub.net/2021-corvettes-on-the-columbia.

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Smiles everyone! The American Empress paddleboat is back on the river Imagine yourself facing a busload of people all wearing masks. You’re wearing one, too, of course. You were tested for Covid-19 on arrival. You’ve been introduced to the bus driver, and you’ve helped the first 45 guests from the American Empress cruise boat board the bus. You take a deep breath. First bus out at 9 a.m. “Good morning, my name is Kirk and I’ll be your guide this morning. I’m a recovering broadcaster who has flunked retirement … twice. We’re in Richland, Washington, one of five cities that we call the Tri-Cities of Washington.” I wait for folks to do the math, then explain. On June 14, the American Queen Steamboat Company resumed cruises on the Columbia and Snake river system aboard its American Empress paddleboat. The boat stops at Richland’s cruise dock, where buses meet cruisers who are interested in touring the community. That’s where local “Hop-On, HopOff” guides step in. We lead a bus tour that takes about an hour and 15 minutes, with three stops along the way: the Reach Museum, Sacajawea State Park and the Parkway shopping district in Richland. As I write this, the Franklin County Historical Museum is still closed because of the pandemic, so we don’t stop there yet. We do point it out, along with the

Franklin County Courthouse, which is on the National Register of Historic Places. Three specially marked buses travel with Kirk Williamson Empress. Tour bus guide They all follow the same GUEST COLUMN route a half-hour apart so guests can step off at the Reach, for example, learn a thing or two from the exhibits, then board the next bus or the bus after that. Each bus has its own guide who makes two complete circuits so all the guests can hear the complete commentary. Guides coordinate their material to ensure that each segment of the tour is fresh and interesting, even if the guest changes buses and gets a new guide. Want to know who started the first airplane manufacturing plant west of the Mississippi? We’ll tell you. (Hint: it wasn’t Bill Boeing.) How big is the cut glass dome on the Franklin County Courthouse? Got that one covered. What about those mostly similar houses by the intersection of South Fourth Avenue and West A Street in Pasco? And what’s a “reach” anyway? Where did Richland and Pasco get

Courtesy American Queen Steamboat Company Kirk Williamson of Kennewick is a tour bus guide that shows off Tri-City highlights to American Empress paddleboat passengers who stop over in Richland.

their names? What does “Kennewick” mean? All of that and more are shared with about 200 guests who arrive in the TriCities four times a month on American Empress. Guests come from all over the world, but most are from Texas, California, the upper Midwest and New England. One tour in 2015 had a film crew from Japan’s NHK network. The American Empress is the largest of the cruise boats on the Snake and

Columbia rivers. After a night’s stay in either Spokane or Portland, guests board in Clarkston or Vancouver, Washington. Ports of call include Astoria, Stevenson, The Dalles and the Tri-Cities. On a personal note, my wife Gloria and I really enjoyed our cruise on the Empress. We grew up in Goldendale and thought we knew the Columbia River pretty well. But any boater will tell you that you don’t really know a river until

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PADDLEBOAT, From page A27 you’re on the water. We’ve made our two circuits and welcomed nearly all the 200 guests on board. One final announcement to be made. “Enjoy the rest of your cruise. Remember, all aboard time is 4:30 p.m. Empress sails at 5.”

Answer key Curious about the answers to the Tri-City trivia questions posed above? Williamson provided the answers: First airplane factory: Charles Zornes, 1908-12, at what is now Big Pasco Franklin County Courthouse dome: 36 feet diameter, 20 feet tall. Artwork around the base depicts Franklin County towns.

Northern Pacific executive houses, also called “red row” because NP used the same paint as on its cabooses, red with green trim. Richland is named for state legislator Nelson Rich, a land developer and friend of Howard Amon. The name “Pasco”: A railroad engineer suggested the name based on a place he worked in Peru, Cerro de Pasco. Kennewick means “winter paradise; winter haven; grassy place; grassy slope” depending on the dialect of Sahaptin. Its mild weather made it a winter gathering place for tribes. Kirk Williamson of Kennewick regularly writes about the Columbia Basin Badger Club for the Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business.

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Alaska park vet tapped to head Mount Rainier park

The National Park Service has tapped a 30-year veteran who began his career as a whale biologist in Alaska as the next superintendent of Mount Rainier National Park. Greg Dudgeon joined the park in July from his post as deputy regional director overseeing 15 national parks, preserves, monuments and other sites in Alaska. Dudgeon joined the park service in 1983 as a volunteer photographing humpback whales at Glacier Bay National Park and rose through the service, serving in numerous parks and other facilities chiefly in Alaska. Dudgeon and his wife, Susan, and

their retired sled dogs (Lucor and Solace) will live near Mount Rainier, established in 1899 as the nation’s fifth national parks.

Cancer center hosts summer barbecue at Bookwalter The Kadlec Tri-Cities Cancer Foundation holds its 2021 Summer Barbecue from 6 p.m. to midnight July 31 at Bookwalter Winery, 894 Tulip Lane, Richland. Tickets are $100 and include dinner, two glasses of spirits, entertainment and a fireworks show. Attendees must be 21 or older. Call 509-737-3413 for information or purchase tickets online: bit.ly/BookwalterBackyardBBQ.

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All dream projects start with a blank sheet of paper.

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Benton Franklin Fair set for Aug. 24-28 in Kennewick

The Benton Franklin Fair & Rodeo is Aug. 24-28 in Kennewick following a hiatus during the coronavirus pandemic. The lineup includes concerts by Trace Adkins, Nelly, Foghat, Seether and Plain White T’s, as well as the demolition derby and rodeo. All seats for the Horse Heaven Round-Up are reserved this year. Go to bentonfranklinfair.com or avoid processing fees by buying tickets at the fair office, 812 W. Washington St., Pasco, or the Kennewick Ranch & Home store.

Elijah Family Homes holds charity golf tournament

Elijah Family Homes, a Richland nonprofit that works with low-income families, holds its first ever charity golf tournament, “Chipping in Fore Families in Recovery,” starting with a scramble at 8 a.m. Aug. 27 at Zintel Creek Golf Club, formerly the Tri-Cities Country Club, in Kennewick. A smoked brisket and barbecue chicken lunch is planned for the awards ceremony. Entry is $500 per team or $150 for individuals. All proceeds support local families working toward self-sustainability. Call 509-943-6610 or go to elijahfamilyhomes.org

TOURISM United Soccer League pledges team in Spokane

The United Soccer League recently announced its intent to bring a W League women’s soccer team to Spokane as early as 2022. The announcement follows news that a $31 million 5,000-seat stadium is planned in downtown to serve as the home of a USL League One expansion team. Cindy Wendle, president of USL to Spokane, will lead the effort. The new venue was approved by the Spokane Public Schools in June and will be funded with a voter-approved bond. It will be built near the Spokane Arena and managed by the Spokane Public Facilities District.

Prosser Art Walk is July 17

The 17th annual Prosser Art Walk & Wine Gala will be held from 6-10 p.m. July 17 in the streets of downtown Prosser. The event includes award-winning wine and a promenade featuring creative works by Northwest artisans, including fine art, glass, pottery, jewelry, fiber and recycled wood. The wine event features new and established wineries as well as microbrews from throughout the region and live music from the Chase Craig Band. There will be food trucks offering food for purchase. Tickets are $15 and include a commemorative logo glass, two scrip for wine or beer. Go to tourprosser.com/artwalk.

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Bellingham

Port Angeles

LAKE CHELAN Woodinville

COLUMBIA VALLEY

Seattle

Wenatchee

PUGET SOUND AVA

ANCIENT LAKES

Olympia

NACHES HEIGHTS Mt. Rainier

Spokane

Quincy

ROYAL SLOPE

WAHLUKE SLOPE

WHITE BLUFFS Yakima SNIPES MOUNTAIN RED MOUNTAIN CANDY MOUNTAIN Tri-Cities YAKIMA VALLEY Prosser Walla Walla GOOSE GAP

Pullman

RATTLESNAKE HILLS

LEWIS-CLARK VALLEY

COLUMBIA GORGE WALLA WALLA HORSE VALLEY HEAVEN HILLS

THE BURN OF COLUMBIA VALLEY

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Courtesy Washington State Wine Commission

Benton County is home to the state’s newest viticultural area By Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business

Washington’s 19th American Viticultural Area becomes official on Aug. 2. Goose Gap AVA, which lies within Benton County and two existing AVAs, offers winemakers the opportunity to identify it as the source of their grapes on labels under federal rules. The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau approved the newest AVA on July 1. It takes effect after 30 days. Alan Busacca petitioned for the new viticulture area on behalf of the Goose Gap Wine Growers Association. Goose Gap is within the existing Yakima Valley AVA and Columbia Valley AVA. It contains 8,129 acres and has one winery, Goose Ridge Winery, and two commercial vineyards that collectively cover more than 1,800 acres. In 2017, the two vineyards harvested more than 7,000 tons of grapes and the winery produced about 50,000 cases of wine from those grapes. The new AVA allows the vineyards and winery to better describe the origin of their wines, according to a 2020 announcement in the Federal Register that summarized the application. “Our family started farming in the Columbia Valley in the early 1900s and we always knew Goose Gap was a special site,” said Bill Monson, president of Goose Ridge Estate Vineyards & Winery. “This area has a unique microclimate. We often watch rain

clouds and fog maneuver around Goose Mountain avoiding the vineyards planted at the top.” Goose Gap is distinguished by its geology and soils. It has a similar climate to the nearby Red Mountain AVA, according to the petition. Goose Gap takes its name from the saddle or gap of land between Goose Hill and Candy and Badger mountains, which are to the east and southeast. The name appeared in a 1965 U.S. Geological Survey quadrangle map but is thought have been in use much longer. The journal Forest and Stream described goose hunting at “Goose Gap” in a 1904 article, a reference to the gap geese fly through between the sand bars of the Columbia River and the Horse Heaven feeding grounds. Goose Gap and Goose Hill together form part of a single folded and faulted block of the underlying Columbia River basalt, which is part of a series of folded hills and valleys collectively known as the Yakima Fold Bent. The AVA designation will allow winemakers to include “Goose Gap” on labels. Under federal regulations, a wine labeled with the name of an AVA must contain 85% of its grapes from that area. The new AVA does not affect the ability of winemakers from using “Yakima Valley” or “Columbia Valley” as an appellation of origin or in brand names for their wines.

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TRI-CITIES AREA JOURNAL OF BUSINESS | JULY 2021

TRI-CITIES AREA JOURNAL OF BUSINESS | JULY 2021 uBUSINESS BRIEFS

Pasco fertilizer maker fined $25,500 for air violations

A Pasco fertilizer manufacturer was fined $25,500 by the Washington Department of Ecology for operating a mobile fertilizer reactor without an air quality permit. Fertilizer production can release ammonia and fluoride, both toxic gases that can be dangerous to people, the state said. The penalty is the third in the past two years for Pacific Northwest Solutions. The company was previously fined $5,000 in 2019 and again in 2020, both times for failing to properly test its equipment to ensure it met air quality emissions standards. The $25,500 penalty was issued after an Ecology inspector found a Pacific Northwest Solutions’ mobile fertilizer reactor operating without a permit on March 8, 2021, at a site near Moses Lake. An investigation found that the reactor produced a total of 650 tons of ammonium polyphosphate liquid fertilizer over three days. Pacific Northwest Solutions can appeal the penalty to the Washington Pollution Control Hearings Board.

Inslee issues moratorium extension on utilities

State regulators extended protections for electric and natural gas utility customers experiencing financial hardships due to the pandemic. The commission ordered investorowned electric and natural gas utilities

in Washington to continue a moratorium on disconnections for nonpayment until Sept. 30. Utilities will continue to waive deposits for new customers and all late fees through March 29, 2022. Customers struggling to pay their utility bills should contact their utilities to ask about their options, which include assistance funds, long-term payment plans and budget billing. The UTC ordered each of its investor-owned energy utilities to create temporary Covid-19 bill relief programs, resulting in more than $40 million in new assistance funds available to customers. Even if customers have already received help, or don’t think they qualify, they should still call their utility. UTC staff also are available to assist customers who need help working with their utilities and are available at 888-333WUTC (9882) or via chat during business hours at utc.wa.gov.

FSA seeks Franklin County nominees

The Farm Service Agency is accepting nominations for its Franklin County committee through Aug. 2. Committee membership is open to producers. The committees advise the FSA on decisions about programs dealing with disaster and conservation, emergencies, commodity loan price support, county office employment and other agriculture issues. Producers can nominate themselves or others. The 2021 openings are for local administrative area No. 1, which includes Mesa, Basin City and Connell. All lands

Thank you

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in the irrigated area north of Bellflower and Sheffield roads to the county line and west of the Columbia River and east of Highway 395 are included. Go to bit.ly/FSA2021Nomination.

Almost every nursing home is short staffed

A recent survey by the American Health Care Association and National Center for Assisted Living reveals an alarming staffing shortage in nursing homes and long-term care facilities. The survey was release in support of the industry’s “Care For Our Seniors Act,” to reform the senior care industry and improve Medicaid funding. The organization, which represents more than 14,000 facilities, reports 94%

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of nursing home providers and 81% of assisted living communities said they had a shortage of staff in the most recent month. More than half said they lost key members of their staff in the previous year during the pandemic, including certified nursing assistants, direct caregivers and dietary staff. The workforce situation worsened in 2021, it said, Better pay and benefits would help, according to 81% of nursing home providers and 75% of assisted living communities. Mark Parkinson, president, called on lawmakers to prioritize long term care, starting with addressing chronic underfunding of Medicaid for nursing homes. Current reimbursements cover 80% or less of the cost of care. Go to bit.ly/CareForOurSeniorsAct.

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TRI-CITIES AREA JOURNAL OF BUSINESS | JULY 2021

BUSINESS PROFILE

Couple transform Flat Top Mountain property into lavender farm By Robin Wojtanik

for Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business

An unassuming West Richland lavender farm brims with purple and possibility as the owners dream well beyond U-pick bunches to becoming the largest lavender-cutting supplier in the state. Terri and Steve Szendre operate SunKissed Lavender on Flat Top Mountain, off Collins Road, where they nurture 2,000 lavender plants, land once covered with weeds and sagebrush. Their vision began simply: cover the space to reduce fire risk and maybe get a little lavender from the plants. Now, “it’s all about the oil,” Terri said. Her plants produce lavender oil, which the couple sells and infuses in beauty products, including lip balms, bath bombs, soaps, hand sanitizer, wax melts and more. The Szendres also farm hundreds of culinary, or edible, lavender used as the base for Terri’s lavender cookie mix ($6), lemonade ($5) or iced tea ($3). “This is like sugar. You could put it right into iced tea for a sweetener,” Steve said.

Plant propagation An equally big effort for the business is its lavender propagating, or cloning. “It’s all science,” said Terri, who has got it down to a science. She estimates it takes her about 30 seconds to create a lavender starter, whipping through 72 plants in a single tray.

Photo by Robin Wojtanik Steve and Terri Szendre started a lavender farm on their West Richland property five years ago and now sell many lavender products and plants and host special events.

This year, she spent about two months working on lavender cuttings grown in a greenhouse to have the plants ready for sale by Mother’s Day. While most people prefer to give mom a flowering lavender plant, Terri said the best success comes from plants not yet blooming. “You’re selling the roots, that’s where the energy is,” she said. The plants will bloom later in the summer, and as a perennial, they can return stronger each year.

“It took me about three years to learn how to do it,” she said. The couple had their soil tested to confirm it would work for lavender. Their West Richland property’s slope promotes good drainage for English and French varieties, including Grosso, Folate and Silver Frost, a white lavender bloom. Terri found the Spanish lavender doesn’t work as well in the Tri-City climate. She learned to cultivate lavender on

a large scale from Victor Gonzalez, a lavender grower with a large farm in Sequim. The Olympic Peninsula city is home to dozens of lavender farms and a yearly lavender festival the Szendres routinely visited. Gonzalez brought 400 plants to the couple’s Flat Top property and taught the Szendres the tricks of the trade. “But you don’t learn everything that way,” Terri said. It was trial and error and Terri got the hang of it quickly, noting that nearly all of the 2,000 starters survived the winter to be eligible for sale in the spring. The success invigorated her and inspires her goal to keep increasing the number of clones she produces yearly, with a target of 20,000 plants. “I want to be one of the main cloners in the state,” she said. The cuttings potted and sold the same year bring in $10 each, and the larger, second-season plants go for $30. Terri sold every pot she had available this year.

Lavender harvest Harvest of SunKissed’s 13 varieties begins in mid-July and takes about a month, using a sickle to cut the blooms by hand in bunches. “You grab it like a ponytail and whack it, keeping an eye on the blade,” Terri said. uLAVENDER, Page A36

BUSINESS PROFILE

TRI-CITIES AREA JOURNAL OF BUSINESS | JULY 2021

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Mexican ice pop shop’s icy treats keep you cool on hot days By Jeff Morrow

for Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business

For 28 years, Paleteria La Jalpita has been handcrafting icy Mexican treats on a stick in downtown Pasco. “We have six pots a day, with each pot producing 800 paletas, for 4,800 total paletas a day,” said Rom Romero, whose dad, Jesus Romero, owns the shop. Paletas are Mexican ice pops that come in a rainbow of colors and flavors, often boasting a richer flavor profile than the sugary treats-on-a-stick found in traditional grocery store freezers. Rom, 31, is one of the many from the Romero family who helps make them. In La Jalpita’s kitchen, workers staff an assembly line starting around 6 a.m. and wrapping up around noon, Monday through Friday. They feed ice cream into molds, which are dropped into cold saltwater tanks. They’re then pulled out and wrapped in plastic before going into a freezer. Altogether, La Jalpita offers 26 different flavors, ranging from the more traditional lime, vanilla, chocolate and coffee, to the more unusual hibiscus, tamarind, chamoy, pistachio, egg nog and chile pepino. Customers have their favorites. Children seem to enjoy the bubble gum flavor the most, Rom said. “For adults, it’s tied between strawberry and coconut,” he said. “Coconut is really great. We use shreds of coconut in

it.” La Jalpita, which operates from a bright yellow building at 202 W. Lewis St. in downtown Pasco, sells them for $1 each, or $10.50 for 15. The shop also sells other cool treats, like bolis (ice cream in a tube), raspados (shaved ice) and ice cream in a cone or cup. The Pasco shop also doubles as the distribution center. Altogether, Rom said the family employs 10 people to work the assembly line and front counter. But there are others. On a recent day, Rom talked about a relative making deliveries to the Port Angeles area and another taking care of the Walla Walla region. Deliveries are sent as far away as Wyoming. Locally, employees make sure the grocery stores and gas stations have plenty of supply. La Jalpita also employs two men who spend their summers walking around Pasco with carts filled with paletas, ringing bells to draw attention. “One of them has worked for us for 12 years doing that,” Rom said. The historic heat wave that baked the state in early July helped to improve the family business. “You walk in the freezer back there where we store everything, but the things fly out of there in the summer,” Rom said. Even in winter, when the store shuts down, Rom says people still want their paletas.

“Everybody craves ice cream,” he said. “And when it gets to 70 degrees and is sunny, we open up.” Expansion could be on the way. “We’re trying to start something in the Caldwell/ Nampa area,” Rom said. He said the family bought a Fresno store earlier this year. “My youngest brother runs that one,” he said. Jesus’ cousin, Ramon, Photo by Jeff Morrow started his own Rom Romero stands next to his family’s store, Paleteria La ice cream store Jalpita, at 202 W. Lewis St. in Pasco. in Los Angeles. “And then Jesus is a quiet man who’d rather not he opened a talk to the media. Instead, he throws himsecond store in Fresno,” Rom said. “He self into the work. asked my dad if he wanted to start one. Rom said he grew up around the store. He had all of the recipes.” “I remember running around here as All of his children have either worked, or are working, in the business. uLA JALPITA, Page A37

TRI-CITIES AREA JOURNAL OF BUSINESS | JULY 2021

To accomplish the daunting task of cutting, banding and drying the 2,000 plants at their West Richland property, Steve takes time away from his day job and their family helps. They also hire additional assistance. Most of the lavender is run through a large copper still that separates the fatand water-soluble parts of the plant. The 45-minute steam distillation process handles about a dozen bunches at a time, creating about 4 gallons of pure lavender oil, along with a clear liquid byproduct called hydrosol.

Courtesy Terri Szendre

Myriad uses Lavender oil has a multitude of uses, including in beauty products, for first aid and to relieve anxiety. Hydrosol doesn’t

smell the same as lavender; it’s more floral and woodier. Its thin viscosity allows for it to be sprayed from a bottle, often as a facial spritzer or acne fighter. Terri uses it on her hair. “What makes our oil so special is that it’s 100% Grosso variety, straight from the plant. There’s no carrier oil or blend, so it doesn’t stain,” she said. The lavender used for culinary purposes must be cleaned of all dust and dirt without wetting it. It’s frozen to kill any microbes before it’s added to the cookie or drink mix packages, which consistently sell out as quickly as Terri can make them. It also can be used to make a simple syrup for lavender-infused cocktails. Terri used it at a wedding hosted on their property, one of many ways the farm has diversified. The Szendres rent a 900-square-foot facility that comes with a commercial kitchen. They’ve hosted baby showers, birthday parties and recently a networking night offered by New York Life agent Erica Mata as a way to empower local women. Mata first visited the farm to cut lavender and then rented the space for her sunset event that included wine tasting, oracle card readings, sage sales and a picturesque way to view the strawberry moon scheduled for the night. The Szendres charge $100 an hour for the space, which allows private parties to enjoy an air-conditioned venue, patio and grounds.

Farm visits For those who hope to go home with a bundle of lavender or take pictures amid the acres of purple flower clumps, the couple charges $5 for as much lavender as you can hold in your hand, and there’s no charge to use the lavender rows as a backdrop for pictures. The Szendres tend to each plant after harvest, trimming it down to a ball so that it returns hearty and strong the following season. “These guys work for me. They’re my babies,” Terri said. SunKissed Lavender Farm adds about 400-500 plants each year, and the couple looks forward to lavender honey produced by commercial beehives located on the edge of the property. SunKissed lavender products may be purchased online or from the farm, and the cookie and drink mixes also are available at the weekly farmers markets held from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Sundays at 3 Eyed Fish in Richland and from 8 a.m. to noon Saturdays at the Prosser Farmers Market. Search SunKissed Lavender: 509-4301425; sunkissedlavender.com; @sunkissedlavender.

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TRI-CITIES AREA JOURNAL OF BUSINESS | JULY 2021 LA JAPITA, From page A35 a 5-year-old,” he said. “My dad would grumble and say, ‘This is not a day care.’ ” La Jalpita opened in 1993 in Pasco at its current location. The store is named after Jalpa in the Mexican state of Zacatecas — where the family is from. The Romeros come from big families. “There are 16 siblings on my mom Rosa’s side,” Rom said. “And there are eight siblings on my dad’s side.” Rom’s parents met while working the fields in Fresno. He got a taste of what they went through back then. “I’ve worked in landscaping and in the fields, helping harvest in Hawaii,” he said. “I know what they went through.” It’s another reason he’s decided these

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past few years to dive into the family business. Jesus is 65, and he still works every day, “but my dad is tired, and that’s why I’m here to help,” Rom said. Rom wants to continue the paleta legacy. “It’s not just about making the product,” he said. “It’s about family and roots ... and it’s turned into the American Dream.” Search La Jalpita: 202 W. Lewis St., Pasco; 509-545-9551; www.la-jalpita.business.site. Paleteria La Jalpita in Pasco offers 26 different flavors of paletas. Adults favor strawberry and coconut flavors and kids love bubblegum, said Rom Romero, whose family owns the shop.

Photo by Kristina Lord

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TRI-CITIES AREA JOURNAL OF BUSINESS | JULY 2021

uAPPOINTMENTS • Gov. Jay Inslee appointed Jacqueline Stam to the Benton & Franklin Counties Superior Court. She will replace Judge Carrie L. Runge, who is retiring July 30. Stam currently serves as a Benton & Franklin Counties Superior Court commissioner, a position she has held since 2011. In that role, she presides over family law, probate, guardianship and juvenile dockets. Before joining the bench, Stam was a senior partner at Cowan Moore Stam Luke & Peterson LLC, a Richland law firm, where she practiced family law and conducted mediations from 1993 through 2011. In the community, Stam volunteers with the local YMCA Mock Trial Competition as a lead judicial officer and attorney. She is also involved in the local

Adoption Day and Law Day committees and previously served as a member of the Benton County Parks Board. Stam earned her bachelor’s degree at Northern Arizona University. She earned her law degree at Gonzaga University. • Gabriela Valencia of Kennewick, a Tri-Cities business owner, was recently appointed to the board of directors of Yakima Federal Savings and Loan Association. Valencia is the founder of ValTran Professional Translation Services, which was established in 2006. Prior to launching her own company she worked at Columbia Industries and Pacific Northwest National Laboratories. She received a bachelor’s in business administration from Gonzaga University. • The Othello School District Board of Directors appointed Pete Perez as superin-

tendent of the district. The board unanimously approved a three-year contract in a June 30 special board meeting. The contract replaces the interim superintendent agreement that had previously been approved by the board for the 2021-22 school year.

uAWARDS & HONORS

• LifeCenter Northwest presented a collaboration achievement award to Kadlec Regional Medical Center and Trios Health Southridge Hospital in Kennewick in recognition of their superior organ donation performance in 2020, recognizing their ability to plan a collaborative family conversation to ensure the best possible experience for the organ donor’s family. This award is reserved for hospi-

tals reaching or exceeding a collaborative request rate of 90%. • Crystal Sullivan, a medical assistant at the Trios Spine & Interventional Clinic, has been recognized as the hospital’s 2021 Mercy Crystal Sullivan Award winner for ensuring every person she encounters receives the highest level of care and compassion. The Mercy Award recognizes one employee from each of LifePoint Health’s hospitals who profoundly touches the lives of others and best represents the spirit and values on which the company was founded. Sullivan and her family started a nonprofit, Grateful Soles, to be able to give socks and shoes to children who need them through local schools. They have for several years, out of their own pockets, bought coats, clothes, food and Christmas presents for families in need. Each hospital winner will be considered for LifePoint’s 2021 companywide Mercy Award. The companywide winner will be announced this summer and honored during a ceremony in August in Nashville. • Two Richland School District employees have received Educational Service District 123 awards. Linda Johnson, lead ECAP teacher at the Early Learning Center, is the ESD 123 Teacher of the Year. She was nominated because of her way of engaging and inspiring her youngest learners and supporting her fellow staff. Holly Hernandez, kitchen manager at Chief Joseph Middle School, has been named regional classified school employee of the year. She was nominated by district leaders due to her exceptional work ensuring children had access to meals. Regional ESD winners go on to compete for state awards. • Pasco-Kennewick Rotary awarded $1,000 to the Columbia Basin Veterans Center for exemplifying high ethical standards. The nonprofit administers the Veterans Relief Funds that enables local counties to give assistance to veterans in financial need. CBVC also administers two homes which help veterans transition from homelessness to stable living conditions. Pasco-Kennewick Rotary Charitable Trust awarded five $3,000 scholarships to students from Kamiakin, Kennewick, Pasco and River View high schools. The scholarships recognize students who show outstanding service above self, achievement in leadership, community service, scholarship and financial need. Winners are Kamiakin’s Olivia Mancinelli; Kennewick’s Wendy Yuliaana SanchezGarcia; Pasco High School/Delta’s Kathy Do; Pasco’s Emilia Quintero; and River View’s Alejandra Gomez, who also received the Spirit of Rotary/Dr. Somach Award. • Two students from Hanford High School have been recognized in the 2021 Congressional Art Competition. Alexander Marquez, a junior at Hanford, created the winning entry. Yarixa Perez, also a junior, earned second place.

TRI-CITIES AREA JOURNAL OF BUSINESS | JULY 2021 uNEW HIRES

• The city of Pasco has hired Mike Gonzalez as the new economic development manager in the Community & Economic Development Mike Gonzalez Department. He started June 14. His role includes business development, retention and attraction, including the promotion of city-sponsored projects and initiatives. He comes to the city from Franklin PUD where he was responsible for understanding Franklin PUD’s policy positions, advocating with government officials, customers and critical stakeholders. Gonzalez spent nearly 20 years in the news business. He holds a bachelor’s in communications from North Carolina State University and is a licensed real estate agent. He serves on several boards, including the Tri-Cities Legislative Council, Pasco Chamber of Commerce, Downtown Pasco Development Association and Columbia Basin Veterans Center. • Jeremy Santo has joined J. Bookwalter as head winemaker for the 50,000case, Richland-based winery. Prior to joining J. Bookwalter, Santo was head winemaker for Mercer Estates Winery from 2017-21. Santo got his start in Washington’s wine industry in 2003 as a lab technician at Snoqualmie Winery. In 2006, he joined Canoe Ridge Estate Winery as an enologist and eventually was promoted to assistant winemaker. He left Canoe Ridge in 2012 for Wahluke Wine Company, where he became head winemaker for Ryan Patrick Winery. He is a native of Eastern Washington and attended Washington State University. He lives in west Pasco with his wife Michelle and their two children • Amanda Schoch has been named chief communications officer at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. Amanda Schoch She joins PNNL from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, where she was the chief communications officer and the assistant director of national intelligence for strategic communications. • Alyssa Neil, a certified physician assistant, has accepted a position with Lourdes Health Family Medicine. Neil previously practiced at Lourdes Alyssa Neil Cardiology and will now see patients at Lourdes West Pasco. She earned her master of physician assistant studies from Kettering College in Ohio in 2019 and her bachelor of science in biology at Walla Walla University in 2016. She

has completed several clinical rotations, including in general surgery, emergency medicine, psychiatry, OB/GYN, pediatrics, internal medicine, and family practice. She is board certified and has certifications in Basic Life Support and Advanced Cardiac Life Support from the American Heart Association. • New U Women’s Clinic and Aesthetics in Kennewick has hired Andrea Stevens as a women’s health provider for gynecological Andrea Stevens and genetics care. She has experience in contraception care, comprehensive gynecologic care, preconception planning, gynecologic cancer risk assessment and preventive women’s wellness care. She has been a preceptor for students from the University of Washington Medex program the last two years. Prior to this, she was a labor and delivery traveling nurse since 2001 at several dozen hospitals throughout the country. Stevens has contributed to a national position statement for Nurse Practitioners in Women’s Health on prepregnancy carrier screening and serves on the Educational Advisory Board for comprehensive genetics with NPWH. She also is a consultant for Myriad Genetics • SVN Retter and Company in Kennewick has hired Scott Howell as a senior advisor, specializing in commercial sales and leasing. He graduated from the University of Washington in 2004. He spent two years as the government account manager for the Central Washington region at Verizon for two years, before spending 14 years in commercial lending. Four years ago, he made the transition from lending to commercial sales and leasing. • Wenaha Group, a construction management consultant with five offices throughout Washington, Oregon and Arizona, has hired Anthony Bonifer and Shandiin Yessilth as project managers; Nathan Ware as assistant manager of logistics and business operations; Kailee Simmons as assistant manager of client relations and logistics; and Katy Byers as marketing coordinator. • Kandice Schultz, a registered nurse and board-certified family nurse practitioner, has been hired to practice at Lourdes Family Medicine. She Kandice Schultz comes to Lourdes from Pacific Northwest Laboratories, where she had been employed in an occupational health and urgent care setting for staff. She has a wide range of experience as a family nurse practitioner, including urgent care, primary care and occupational health settings. Schultz earned her bachelor’s of science in nursing in 2006 and master of nursing in 2008 from Washington State University Intercollegiate College of

Nursing. • Academy of Children’s Theatre has hired new staff. Adrienne Fletcher has been hired as the music director and Adrienne Fletcher office specialist. She has master’s degrees in orchestral conducting and vocal performance/ pedagogy from Central Washington University and an undergrad Brandon Harbo degree in harp performance from Pacific Lutheran University. Brandon Harbo joins as marketing coordinator. He is an ACT alumni and recent Washington State University busiLisa Howell ness/marketing graduate. Lisa Howell joins as productions manager, a new position. She will coordinate and execute MainStage productions at ACT.

uDONATIONS • Richland-based Gesa Credit Union donated $100,000 in student and educa-

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tion scholarships across Washington state. Local winners are Tewachech (Te) Feser of Delta High School and Chanda Baie of Chiawana High School, both of Pasco. Feser won $11,000 in scholarships. After being diagnosed with polio at age 2, Feser entered the foster system at age 8 and went on to excel as a Gesa student teller and intern in high school, all while maintaining a 3.9 grade-point average. Baie received $1,000 in the student loan repayment category. She is a teacher and advisor for Gesa’s High School Credit Union Campus Branch at Chiawana High School and has led its program to consistently be a top performing campus branch. Baie received $1,000 in the student loan repayment category. • The Bechtel Group Foundation donated $20,000 to the Junior Achievement of Washington, Southeastern Washington Chapter. This enables Junior Achievement to deliver its free, virtual programs to educators and students to help sustain learning during the pandemic.

uRETIREMENT • Adele Connors has retired as director of development at Academy of Children’s Theatre in Richland.

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TRI-CITIES AREA JOURNAL OF BUSINESS | JULY 2021

CELEBRATING

Fowler Construction lands $19M contracts for Hanford site work

Page B3

YEARS

REAL ESTATE & CONSTRUCTION

Port of Pasco closes deal for 55 acres

July 2021 Volume 20 | Issue 7 | B1

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Ste. Michelle’s $1.2 billion sale will be felt in the Mid-Columbia By Wendy Culverwell editor@tcjournal.biz

Ste. Michelle Wine Estates, Washington’s largest winery by far, will join a corporate stable that includes consumerfocused brands such as Ann Taylor Loft, Torrid and Hot Topic under a $1.2 billion deal announced July 9. Altria Group Inc., parent to the Woodinville-based winery, said it had reached an agreement to sell Ste. Michelle Estates to Sycamore Partners Management LP, a New York private equity firm that invests in brands often found in shopping malls.

The agreement covers all assets associated with Ste. Michelle Estates, including wineries and company-owned vineyards, said Ryan Pennington, spokesman for the wine business. Ste. Michelle owns eight distinct winery facilities, including five well-known Mid-Columbia powerhouses. In addition to the flagship Chateau Ste. Michelle Winery in Woodinville, it operates Canoe Ridge Winery in Paterson, Columbia Crest Winery in Paterson, Col Solare Winery in Benton City, 14 Hands Winery in Prosser and Northstar Winery in Walla Walla.

The Washington wineries are collectively valued at $170 million for property tax purposes by the assessors in Benton, King and Walla Walla counties. It also owns two wineries in California – Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars in Napa and Conn Creek Winery in St. Helena. Most wineries produce more than one brand, Pennington said. The all-cash deal is expected to close by the end of the year, subject to Sycamore securing financing and regulatory approval. In addition to wineries, Ste. Michelle Estates farms 30,000 acres of vineyards in

J-U-B Engineers moves to new Kennewick office By Wendy Culverwell editor@tcjournal.biz

The civil engineers and designers in the Kennewick office of J-U-B Engineers have lent their expertise to almost every aspect of the locally-built environment. They work on water and wastewater plants, roads and bridges, aviation projects, site development and plenty more. And now, for the first time since the Kennewick office opened near West Clearwater and Highway 395 in 1977, it has worked on project for itself. In June, J-U-B moved to a custom built, 14,000-square-foot office at 3611 S. Zintel Way, next to the Zintel Canyon Dam above Canyon Lakes in western Kennewick. It was a welcome move for the Kennewick office, which has 47 of Boise-based J-U-B’s 440 employees, making it one of the largest in the company’s network of 20 offices in seven states, including Washington, Oregon and Idaho. “We’ve been in the same spot the whole time,” said Alex Fazzari, area manager. The new office is about two miles from the original J-U-B location, a deliberate choice Fazzari said was meant to avoid disrupting the team’s commuting patterns.

Washington, Oregon and California, the vast majority under contract. Only 3,000 acres are company owned. As with its wineries, most vineyard activity is focused in Washington, where it farms 27,000 acres and owns 2,500. “We contract most of our grapes,” Pennington said. The sale affects a global workforce of 1,077, with 834 evenly divided between eastern and western Washington. It is also the namesake sponsor of the Washington State University Wine Science Center on the WSU Tri-Cities camuSTE. MICHELLE, Page B8

Tax-paying arm of LDS church wins auction for Easterday farmlands By Wendy Culverwell editor@tcjournal.biz

Courtesy J-U-B Engineers Inc. The Kennewick office of Boise-based J-U-B Engineers Inc. moved to a new building at 3611 S. Zintel Way in June. It is the first move since the employeeowned company opened a Tri-Cities office in 1977 and reflects growth in demand for its civil engineering and planning services.

The $4.5 million project was developed by REA Commercial Inc., which will sell it to J-U-B this summer. Fazzari said the firm had plenty of input to ensure it got the building it wanted. The crew of engineers, surveyors and more work across departments and collaborate. That necessitated a single-story building because, as Fazzari said, a multistory building would be an “impediment” to work. The new space has private offices,

cubicles, conference rooms and a break room with a microwave, refrigerator, patio and views of the Horse Heaven Hills. The Kennewick J-U-B crew consists of numerous teams that focus on different types of projects, from city roads and sewer plants to airport updates and commercial irrigation systems. Its highest profile project at the moment is Pasco’s $40 million Lewis Street overpass, which broke ground in June and uJ-U-B, Page B2

Farmland Reserve Inc., a Utah-based nonprofit related to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, was the winning bidder at a June 17 bankruptcy auction for the 22,500-acre collection of Benton County farms owned by Easterday Ranches Inc. and Easterday Farms. Easterday, a fourth-generation, familyowned agriculture giant based in Franklin County, collapsed after Tyson Foods uncovered a $244 million fraud scheme involving more than 200,000 nonexistent cows in late 2020. Cody Easterday of Mesa acknowledged the ghost cow scheme was meant to cover his losses in commodity futures contract trading and pleaded no contest to fraud charges in federal court in March. He faces a 20-year sentence at an Aug. 4 hearing. His father, Gale Easterday, 79, died Dec. 10 in a head-on collision with a uEASTERDAY, Page B2

TRI-CITIES AREA JOURNAL OF BUSINESS | JULY 2021

EASTERDAY, From page B1 semitruck after driving westbound in an eastbound lane of Interstate 182, shortly before the scheme was revealed. The truck was hauling potatoes, according to an industry publication. Farmland Reserve Inc. bid $209 million for the farmland in an auction stemming from Easterday’s Chapter 11 case, which is pending in U.S. District Court for Eastern Washington. It beat the next highest bidder, a limited liability company led by Microsoft billionaire Bill Gates, by $1 million. According to court documents, the virtual auction was conducted via video conference and included five qualified bidders, including the Gates-led 100C LLC, which offered $208 million. Farmland Reserve and 100C both own significant tracts of farmland in Benton County. Farmland Reserve already controlled “far more than” the 22,500 acres auctioned in June in Benton County when it prevailed in the auction, said Ken Spencer, the county treasurer. The exact acreage was not readily available but Spencer said the Easterday property is a relatively small addition. Despite its nonprofit status, Farmland Reserve pays full property taxes, he said. Bill Gates made national headlines in in 2018 when he paid $171 million for the 14,500-acre 100 Circles properties in southern Benton County, operating behind a national network of LLCs that led to 100C LLC. It was one of the largest transactions in the region at the time and highlighted the investment value of

irrigated farmland in the Mid-Columbia. The bankruptcy sale covers Easterday’s rights and interest to real property in Benton County, including Cox Farm, Farm Manager House, River Farm, Nine Canyon Farm, Goose Gap Farm and a property referred to as the “Storage Complex.” The transaction covers the land, water rights, mineral rights and all improvements, including irrigation systems, fencing, utilities and other equipment. The sale is subject to final court approval. A court hearing was held July 14 in Yakima, after deadline for this publication. The asset sale will generate funds to repay Easterday creditors and as well as nearly $2.7 million in real estate excise taxes for state and local government. The Easterday enterprises filed for protection from creditors on Feb. 1, five days after Tyson sued over the ghost cattle scheme in Franklin County Superior Court, saying its investigation indicated that 200,000 of the 286,000 head of cattle being managed by Easterday did not exist. Tyson, which is publicly traded, first reported the issue in a late-2020 earnings report. Cody Easterday, along with Debby Easterday and Gale Easterday’s widow, Karen Easterday, resigned as officers and placed the company under the control of Paladin Management Group LLC, a Nevada restructuring firm. The June auction did not address Easterday farm assets in Franklin County.

REAL ESTATE & CONSTRUCTION

Courtesy J-U-B Engineers Inc.

J-U-B, From page B1 will wrap in late 2023. The J-U-B transportation group designed the complicated bridge, which will carry Lewis Street over the Pasco railroad tracks instead of its current route through a narrow tunnel beneath. The new bridge has travel lanes for vehicles as well as pedestrian and bicycle amenities and is viewed as a major connection reuniting east Pasco with downtown. The same group was part of the design team for Richland’s new $38 million Duportail Bridge, although it was not the lead. It designed Kennewick’s first roundabout, at South Union and West 27th Street, to reduce the number of accidents occurring when nearby Southridge High School let out each day. Another group focuses on municipal water and wastewater projects for the cities of Kennewick, Pasco, Richland, West Richland, College Place and Walla Walla. The office also, unique among its J-UB peers, is busy with agriculture work,

designing and engineering irrigation and water systems for large farms and agriculture processing firms. It has an aviation group, a property and construction management group and a GIS mapping and asset management unit that helps clients track and monitor key infrastructure such as buried water and sewer lines. Its GIS system informs engineers of the age and status of lines, which lets clients prioritize their public works projects. Fazzari said the Kennewick office is fortunate that most of the work serves clients within the region rather than traveling to distant sites. This means employees can point out their work to family and friends, whether it is a water tank, an offramp or a new bridge. “We have such a great economy in the Tri-Cities and there’s so much to do, we pretty much focus here,” he said. “It’s really rewarding to practice civil engineering at home.” J-U-B’s local phone number is unchanged: 509-783-2144.

REAL ESTATE & CONSTRUCTION

TRI-CITIES AREA JOURNAL OF BUSINESS | JULY 2021

Fowler Construction lands $19M contracts for Hanford site work By Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business

Richland-based Fowler General Construction Inc. will build three projects at the Hanford site under a trio of new contracts worth a combined $19 million. Washington River Protection Solutions, which holds the tank operations contract at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Hanford Site, announced the new contracts on July 6. Two projects totaling $13.5 million are for projects at the Hanford Effluent Treatment Facility, where wastewater generated by Hanford activities will be stored and treated. The work comes as DOE and its contractors prepare to begin heating up the high-temperature melters at the heart of the $17 billion radioactive tank and waste vitrification plant, where low-activity waste left over from decades of weapons production will be combined with sand to form glass that can be safely stored for decades and centuries to come. Fowler’s first contract is to design and build a system to remove a hazardous chemical, acetonitrile, from the liq-

uBUSINESS BRIEFS

Lumber prices may affect homeowners insurance

Washington Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler warns that soaring lumber prices are not just bad news for homebuilders, do-it-yourselfers and others who need lumber. It’s bad for homeowners as well. The increase in construction costs could change the amount of insurance coverage needed for homes. More coverage means higher premiums. Homeowners insurance typically covers replacement costs, but the commissioner’s office notes that with construction prices

uid waste stream generated at the Waste Treatment Plant. Its second contract is to expand the facility’s existing load-in station and to construct a backup load-in station for waste tanker trucks. While most wastewater is pumped to the facility via underground pipes, about 1.2 million gallons per year will arrive by tanker truck, according to Brandon McFerran, manager for the effluent treatment plant. The disposal facility will provide a permanent disposition site for vitrified lowactivity waste containers arriving from the Waste Treatment Plant. But water from precipitation and dust suppression must be collected and sent to the effluent facility for treatment. The third contract, worth $5.3 million, is to construct a 17,600-square-foot office building at Hanford’s 222-S Laboratory. The lab provides analytical services in support of the tank waste cleanup and treatment mission. “Upgrades to these facilities will help ensure critical infrastructure is in place to treat tank waste through the Direct-Feed Low-Activity Waste Program at Hanrising, current policies may not be sufficient. Homeowners should reach out to their insurance agents to ensure they have enough replacement coverage.

Richland docs buy Pasco’s Cousin’s restaurant

Courtesy Bechtel National Inc. Richland-based Fowler Construction has secured three contracts worth $19 million to build projects at the Hanford site to support the Waste Treatment Plant, where low-level radioactive waste will be transformed into glass for long-term storage.

ford’s Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant (WTP),” said Delmar Noyes, manager of the DOE’s Office of River Protection tank farms project division. Washington River Protection Solutions continues to serve as tank farms manager after DOE received an appeal of its deci-

sion to award a new $13 billion, 10-year contract to Hanford Works Restoration, led by BWSXT of Lynchburg, Virginia. DOE rescinded the award and released a request for proposals for a new 10-year, $26.5 billion contract to manage both the tank farms and the vitrification project.

potential uses before announcing if it will become a new outpost for their urgent care business. Kahlon, who has worked in area emergency rooms, opened Health First Urgent Care in a former mattress store near Winco at Richland’s Columbia Point last August.

Sahota practices at Tri-City Orthopedic. Their private, independent Richland clinic treats nonthreatening conditions such as colds and flu, scrapes, cuts and broken bones. Patients with life threatening conditions are encouraged to go directly to the nearest emergency room.

The Richland doctors who established Health First Urgent Care at Columbia Point in 2020 have bought the Cousin’s Restaurant building in Pasco. Dr. Prabjhot “Jyoti” Kahlon and Dr. Janmeet Sahota paid $2.3 million for the former restaurant building at 4605 Road 68, south of Interstate 182. The couple said they are working with the city of Pasco on

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Applebee’s staying put after tough lease renewal talks

The Kennewick Applebee’s Neighborhood Restaurant is staying put after tough lease renewal negotiations prompted its landlord to enlist NAI Tri-Cities to market its building to new tenants. Applebee’s, 606 N. Columbia Center Blvd., was pitched as a highly-visible retail location with nearly 33,000 vehicles passing by each day and asking rent of $22 per square foot per year on a triple net basis. Triple net or, NNN, means tenants take full responsibility for the building, including taxes and insurance. Both the restaurant manager and Todd Sternfeld, the broker representing the

property, confirmed that the two sides were far apart during renewal talks, but that after the listing went live, the two sides came together. Applebee’s has a new lease and is staying open. The listing was advertised online and in a print advertisement for NAI TriCities in the June edition of the Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business. Sternfeld said the listing was deactivated about the time the newspaper reached subscribers. The Kennewick Applebee’s is owned and operated by Apple American Group, a division of Flynn Restaurant Group, a nationwide operator of Applebee’s and other restaurant brands, including Taco Bell, Pizza Hut and Wendy’s. The 1991-built restaurant boasts 8,432 square feet of retail space with outdoor seating and ample parking facing Colum-

REAL ESTATE & CONSTRUCTION bia Center Boulevard as well as North Colorado Street to the rear. Diners also have the choice of Applebee’s locations on Road 68 in Pasco and Columbia Point Drive in Richland.

Richland Fred Meyer has new landlord

Benderson Development, a commercial real estate investment firm based in Sarasota, Florida, bought the Richland Fred Meyer store and associated McDonald’s restaurant at 101 Wellsian Way for a combined $7.6 million. Benderson, operating through FM Richland F LLC, purchased the 170,000-square-foot Fred Meyer and its 14-acre site for $6.3 million, and the 3,457-square-foot McDonald’s location

for $753,000. Metropolitan Life Ins. Co. was the seller in both cases. Benderson owns and manages more than 750 properties with a combined 40 million square feet in 39 states. It invests in a variety of commercial property types, including retail, office/industrial and hotel. The Richland investment appears to be its first in Eastern Washington. The company, which could not be reached to comment on its latest investment, owns several retail properties in western Washington, including a Fred Meyer in Bonney Lake, Home Depot on Delridge Way Southwest in Seattle, a Sam’s Store on Aurora Avenue North in Seattle and a Safeway in Everett.

City chooses Total Site Services to build Pasco park

Total Site Services of Richland will build Pasco’s newest neighborhood park on a five-acre parcel south of Interstate 182 and east of Road 68. The $1 million Chapel Hill Park site was deeded to the city for a future park It is being developed with a playfield, picnic areas, basketball court, walking path, community garden and separate playgrounds for younger and older children. The project includes $728,000 for construction and $200,000 for playground purchase. The city received a small grant to pay for the playground gear.

REAL ESTATE & CONSTRUCTION

TRI-CITIES AREA JOURNAL OF BUSINESS | JULY 2021

WIT Cellars finds new home in Prosser Wine Village By Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business

A fast-growing Prosser winery is the latest addition to Vintner’s Village. WIT Cellars, formed in 2016 by three former Kestrel Vintners winemakers, bought the Gamache Vintners four-acre property at 505 Cabernet Court for $1 million in June. WIT owners Flint Nelson, Gina Adams and Cat Warwick were considering building their own winemaking facility and tasting room in the area. Opportunity knocked when Gamache Vintners owners Bob and Cris Gamache, along with Roger and Paula Gamache, decided to sell their property. The Gamaches will retire the brand when the sale closes. The Gamaches blamed the pandemic for the closure, posting on their Facebook page: “After an unprecedented economic disruption last year, Gamache Vintners has made the difficult decision to close the winery/ tasting room facility on June 1.” They are continuing to sell their wine online only with scheduled pickup appointments or shipping until they out of inventory. “This is a great step forward with WIT. We are so jazzed about the WIT brand coming in, not only because the wines are fabulous, but because we are so looking forward to seeing WIT grow.

We feel like it’s the right fit and facility for the next phase for WIT to keep growing and doing great things,” said Roger Gamache, who plans to continue to grow Cabernet Sauvignon at Dalee Vineyard in Red Mountain, as well as serve on the Wine Industry Foundation Board. For WIT, the Gamaches’ exit from the industry offered the perfect opportunity to secure two buildings. One is a 3,400-square-foot space it will use for a tasting room. The other is 4,600 square feet and will provide room for storage and winemaking. WIT’s Warwick called the Gamache property a dream come true. The team was making wine at Nelson’s home and was out of room. They heard about the potential listing and made an offer within two hours of touring. WIT opened in 2016 and produced about 1,350 cases in its debut year. It reached its 5,000-case goal in year three, two years ahead of schedule. Warwick said the new property allows it to consolidate in a single location. WIT Cellars closed its storefront at 2880 Lee Road the weekend of July 11 and plans to open in their new building on July 15. The winery also operates a tasting room in Woodinville. Go to witcellars.com.

Courtesy WIT Cellars WIT Cellars owners share a toast with Gamache Vintners owners after WIT Cellars bought the Gamache family’s winery and tasting room at Vintner’s Village in Prosser for $1 million. The Gamache brand is retiring with the sale. Pictured from left are: Danielle Boyd, Cat Warwick, Flint Nelson, Gina Adams, Paula Gamache, Roger Gamache and Bob Gamache. Cris Gamache is not pictured.

TRI-CITIES AREA JOURNAL OF BUSINESS | JULY 2021

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TRI-CITIES AREA JOURNAL OF BUSINESS | JULY 2021

Port of Pasco closes deal for 55 acres By Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business

Another Franklin County farm is being plowed under to meet Pasco’s growing appetite for industrial land. The Port of Pasco will establish a new industrial center off Highway 395 after closing a $4.4 million deal to buy 55 acres from Cox Family Land LLC. The port will operate the property as Pasco Industrial Center Highway 395, or PIC395. It is on the east side of the highway. The existing – and full – Pasco Processing Center, its industrial park catering to massive food processors, is nearby. The deal gives the port breathing room to develop its next industrial park, Reimann Industrial Center, to the north. It needs two years to install utilities and other infrastructure to serve industry. PIC395 on the other hand is ready to go almost immediately. It is “shovel ready,” meaning it has the road and utility infrastructure to develop almost immediately. Foster Wells Road is to the north and Capitol Avenue on the east. It does not have rail access but is zoned industrial. The city is expected to annex it this summer. It will remain in agricultural production until a firm is identified to purchase a site. The port said it will work with Franklin County, the city of Pasco and the Franklin Public Utility District to

develop the site, which is expected to cater to similar clients to Pasco Processing Center. Jim Klindworth, chairman of the port’s elected board of commissioners, said the ready-to-go property gives the port a way to respond to demand from food processors and other industrial businesses. “We are very excited to add this new property to the port’s land portfolio. It will help us meet heavy demand for industries a that are Courtesy The Port of Pasco ready to go,” he The Port of Pasco will create a new industrial park off said. Highway 395 after closing a $4.4 million deal for 55 acres Randy Hayden, in June. Pasco Industrial Center Highway 395, or PIC395, the port’s ex- is ready for development but will remain in agricultural ecutive director, use until a land buyer is identified. called the site an checks all the boxes,” he said in a preopportunity the port couldn’t afford to pared statement. pass up. The deal was funded from the port’s “With all the growth we are seeing in Economic Development Opportunity the industrial center, the port wanted to have property available to locate new Fund and includes water rights for agbusiness in Franklin County. PIC395 ricultural and industrial purposes.

uBUSINESS BRIEF

Eviction moratorium amended, extended

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee has modified the state’s eviction moratorium to Sept. 30 to give officials time to implement housing stability programs established by the 2021 Legislature. The extension, described as a “bridge,” allows the state to transition to tenant protections established in SB 5160. The state expects $650 million in federal relief dollars to become available in July. An additional $500 million was released earlier by the Department of Commerce to local governments. The governor implemented the original moratorium in March 2020 to prevent tenants from being evicted in the middle of a pandemic. Under the new order, new provisions will support renters and landlords until the resources and programs become available. Landlords are prohibited from evicting a tenant for past due rent between Feb. 29 2020, and July 31, 2021, until an operational rental assistance program and eviction resolution are in place in their county. Landlords also are prohibited from treating past unpaid rent and other charges as an enforceable debt until both parties have an opportunity to resolve the issue through an eviction resolution pilot program. Under the new rules, renters are expected to pay rent or actively seek assistance funding beginning Aug. 1. Landlords may evict tenants if those actions are not taken. Tenants must be provided a written description of services and support available.

TRI-CITIES AREA JOURNAL OF BUSINESS | JULY 2021

REAL ESTATE & CONSTRUCTION STE. MICHELLE, From page B1

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pus in Richland. Privately, wine industry insiders long expected Altria to shed its wine business. Wine sales represented less than 3% of the Richmond, Virginia-based company’s $4.5 billion in net earnings last year. And Altria itself places its focus and priority on tobacco. Its 10-year vision is, “to responsibly lead the transition of adult smokers to a non-combustible future” and its “Here’s to a smoke-free future” ad is in heavy rotation on major media, including the New York Times website. It repeated its commitment to its smoke-free goal in the press release announcing the wine business sale. Altria previously disclosed it was evaluating the wine business after it wrote off $411 million in inventory losses and noncancellable wine contracts and an 11% decline in wine revenue last year. The performance capped a five-year downward trend for the Ste. Michelle business that dates to 2016, when it moved to reset the business amid a glut of wine and grapes. Ste. Michelle is the undisputed anchor of Washington’s $8.4 billion wine industry and the gluts it faced were a drag on the industry even before the Covid-19 pandemic curbed sales due to bar and restaurant closures. David Dearie joined the company in November as president and chief executive officer and was tasked with reviving its fortunes. “The Ste. Michelle leadership team and I look forward to working with the team at Sycamore Partners and believe we are well-positioned to drive the next phase of our growth,” he said in a written statement included in a press release. It will be a big challenge. Chris Bitter, a Northwest wine economist who runs Vancouver, B.C.-based Vintage Economics, didn’t comment on the potential impacts of the Ste. Michelle Estates sale, but he shared an overview of the state of the industry that has recorded decelerating sales for a decade, particularly in the value and lower priced premiums sectors. Wineries that didn’t adapt struggled, he said. National wine sales grew during the height of the pandemic as sales at grocery stores offset a slump in restaurant sales. The shift benefitted large brands, but demand lost momentum earlier this year. The pandemic bump may be temporary. “(L)arge wineries will continue to face the same headwinds going forward as they did before the pandemic – most notably competition with spirits and alternative alcoholic beverage categories like hard seltzers,” he said. The culprit is familiar: Consumer tastes have shifted to spirits, coming at the expense of beer and wine. “The Millennials have distinctly different preferences and make choices based on different criteria than their Baby Boomer parents,” he said. Second quarter sales data isn’t available, but first quarter sales jumped compared to 2020 but were still below 2019 levels.

REAL ESTATE & CONSTRUCTION

TRI-CITIES AREA JOURNAL OF BUSINESS | JULY 2021

Mortgage-free home under construction for wounded vet with Tri-City ties Annie Charnley Eveland Walla Walla Union-Bulletin

A wounded Army staff sergeant with Tri-City ties soon will move into a new mortgage-free home. Ellis “Jerry” Majetich and his family have officially broken ground on their future home in Ponte Vedra, Florida. This is the first PulteGroup’s Built to Honor home donated in a Del Webb 55-and-older community. A crowd of residents and future neighbors lined the community streets to welcome the Bronze Star and Purple Heart recipient and his wife Mary Ella when they saw their future home site for the first time. “Nothing has ever been given to us; everything we have we’ve worked for,” Majetich said in a news release. “We are both still overwhelmed with emotions – so thankful for everyone who is a part of this. To try to put our feelings into words is impossible, but we’re going to strive to pay it forward for the rest of our lives.” Majetich joined the military out of Kennewick in 1988 because he wanted to better his life while serving and protecting his country. The Kennewick High graduate never expected to make medical history. But one roadside bomb, eight Iraqi insurgents, a traumatic brain injury, severe burns, multiple injuries, 82 subsequent surgeries eventually earned him a place in medical history. Majetich’s journey out of hell started with the 2005 ambush in Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom. Because of his military training and assignments, “Jerry was on an insurgent hit list. They had bounties on him,” said brother Tom Majetich of Walla Walla. He said Jerry was blown up by an IED while in a Humvee. The two guys with him were never found, Tom said. His captain pulled him out of the rig and he was able to return fire. In addition to the injuries from the explosion, he was shot in the right shoulder and three times in the right leg. He suffered burns on more than one-third of his body, including his face and scalp, the loss of his ears and nose, right hand and fingers on his left hand to amputation, the removal of part of his intestines and stomach, a fractured spine and left foot. He also suffers from PTSD. “We got the call that they didn’t think he’d make it,” Tom said. Jerry’s five brothers, including one from West Richland, flew to Fort Sam Houston, Texas, to see him in the burn center. It’s been a long haul for Jerry but along the way he has gone to military bases to speak with other soldiers. “He gives them ideas, helps them get off morphine, helps the wounded and suicidal,” Tom said. Over time, all the brothers helped care for him. In 2006, Tom, who works in information technology at the Washington State Penitentiary in Walla Walla, took three months family leave to help Jerry’s family in Texas. “They were pretty messed up at that time,” he said. The home under construction for Jer-

ry in Florida is a good place for him to be because of the proximity to VA medical facilities, Tom said. “There’s a lot of help out there. It’s really great what they’re doing for the veterans, especially with the house for Jerry and his family,” Tom said. Jerry’s family includes his wife, Mary Ellen, and daughter, Katy Majetich. Jerry’s six brothers were all stationed overseas at one point, Tom said. Richard Posio of Michigan, served with the Army in Korea in the later 1970s; Tom Majetich, served in armored tanks in the Army; Ben Majetich, who is West Richland chief of police, was in Army combat mortar platoons

at Fort Hood Texas; David Majetich of Cohutta, Georgia, was with the Army military police at Fort Stewart in Hinesville, Georgia; and Hank Majetich, was a former Army MP in Texas and now a police lieutenant in Redmond, Oregon. Jerry, the youngest, first served four years with the U.S. Marine Corps in ship security on an aircraft carrier, before serving 15 years in the Army, including with psychological operations in Iraq. He was honorably discharged in 2007. The boys’ mom, Margaret Majetich, lives in West Palm Beach, Florida. She brings the tradition of military service to her family, too. She was stationed as

an Army nurse in Germany in the late 1950s. She’s particularly proud of a letter she received in 1994 from an Army colonel recognizing her contributions toward all six of her sons who served in the Army. WTLV-TV First Coast News reported on May 25, 2021, that Jerry was the “first person in the world to have an experimental surgery on an upper extremity that could revolutionize prosthetics.” His mangled right hand had been a 15-year source of unceasing pain, and in 2020, he chose to have it amputated. He told Tom, “ ‘I’ve been in pain ... for uMAJETICH, Page B11

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Construction + Real Estate in the Tri-Cities

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business’ full-color glossy magazine Focus: Construction + Real Estate in the Tri-Cities provides an overview of the area’s major real estate and construction projects and building trends in the area. This magazine will be inserted into the Journal of Business’ October 2021 issue.

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Courtesy Built to Honor Ellis “Jerry” Majetich, a Bronze Star and Purple Heart recipient who graduated from Kennewick High School, received a mortgage-free home from PulteGroup’s Built to Honor program. It’s being built in Ponte Vedra, Florida. Majetich suffered multiple injuries after an IED exploded his Humvee in Iraq in 2005.

MAJETICH, From page B9 years.’ I understood after the amputation because it relieved the pain,” Tom said. “Jerry’s happy and feels so much better.” Jerry had endured a 17-hour surgery on that hand, but it failed. He told them to take it off. “For me, the pain being gone has changed my life,” he told WTLV. Post amputation, Jerry volunteered to have an experimental surgery using an AMI procedure. The agonist-antagonist myoneural interface method could

revolutionize prosthetics, the WTLV story noted. The hope is it will help alleviate phantom pain and lead to better prosthetic function. Tom and Jerry are hope these developments can help others. “I am thankful for the opportunity to help the veterans that follow because you know, there are, there will be other wars, there’ll be other amputations and I want to make sure that things are better for those that fall behind me,” Jerry told WTLV. The Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business contributed to this report.

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Kennewick waterfront plan approved

The Port of Kennewick has approved a development plan for its downtown waterfront that became a stand-in for separate plans to include low-income housing at one of the properties it owns near Clover Island. The port commission voted 3-0 to approve the Kennewick Historic Waterfront District master plan, noting that the plan is a “30,000-foot” guide to residential, commercial and recreational development. It does not authorize construction of affordable housing at The Willows, the former manufactured home park the port owns at the entrance

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to Clover Island. The port controversially agreed to partner with the Kennewick Housing Authority on a federal Build Back Better infrastructure grant to bring utilities to The Willows in exchange for including low-income housing in the future development mix. The port’s elected leaders said that any specific projects in the future will be thoroughly reviewed. Go to portofkennewick.org/historicwaterfrontdistrict-4.

PitchBook: Blackstone bets big on housing market PitchBook, a Seattle news site that tracks private equity, has reported on the details behind Wall Street’s contro-

REAL ESTATE & CONSTRUCTION versial interest in single-family homes. The real estate arm of The Blackstone Group Inc., the global equity giant that invests on behalf of pension funds and institutions, has a deal to acquire a majority stake in Home Partners of America in a deal that values the company at $6 billion. Chicago-based HPA owns more than 17,000 homes across the U.S. and offers rent-to-own programs for its residents. New York-based Blackstone previously launched Invitation Homes following the 2008 housing collapse that enabled it to buy “large swaths” of foreclosed single-family homes. Invitation went public in 2017 and Blackstone sold the rest of its stake in 2019. Blackstone previously invested $300

million in Tricon Residential, a Canadian operator of single-family housing rentals, according to PitchBook. Blackstone values its current global real estate portfolio at $378 billion.

Jiu-jitsu academy leases space in Pasco

Evol Octopus LLC, a jiu-jitsu academy, leased retail space at 5200 Outlet Drive, Suite 5216, in Pasco’s Broadmoor Park. It planned to move in in May. Lance Bacon and Chad Carper of Kiemle Hagood represented the landlord, Northwest Asset Management Co. Travis Davis of Coldwell Banker Tomlinson represented the tenant.

Knutzen’s Meats Inc. 6404 W. Court St., Pasco

Knutzen’s Meats, 6404 W. Court St., Pasco, completed a $400,000 expansion that will almost double its ability to process custom harvested animals. The addition includes a custom meat processing plant, retail counter, smokehouses, sausage kitchen, cooler and freezer. The cooler space grew by 590 square feet to a total of 1,190 square feet. The covered storage area grew by 240 square feet. The project added more parking too. Knutzen’s Meats is a family-owned business led by Leigh Ann and Steve Knutzen. It has been on West Court Street for 35 of its 47 years. Steve started farm harvesting in 1974, custom processing in 1983 and selling USDA retail meat in 2001. In addition to processing meat, Knutzen’s sells Choice and Prime grades of beef along with Painted Hills Natural beef, pork, buffalo, elk and lamb. The Knutzens initially planned to expand in 2020 but postponed after demand for custom farm harvesting increased during the Covid-19 pandemic. Because hanging cooler space was

limited, its customers sometimes had to wait for months to have their animals processed. Doubling the size of the meat cooler means Knutzen can accommodate local farmers and process their meat in a timelier manner.

James Hummel of Hummel Construction & Development LLC of Richland was the contractor. Paul Knutzen, P.C., Knutzen’s Engineering of Kennewick, was the designer. The project was completed on June 18.

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Nova Health merges with new urgent care operator

Nova Health, an urgent care provider with two clinics in Richland, is merging with Louisiana-based SouthStar Urgent Care. The merger will be completed in August. Terms were not disclosed but the deal will enable the combined company to expand nationally. Both companies provide urgent care services. Nova operates 28 clinics in Washington, Oregon, Montana, Wyoming and Colorado. It has two Richland locations, the former Physicians Immediate Care clinics on Jadwin and on Gage.

SouthStar has 28 clinics in Louisiana. Each operation will retain its brand in the states where it currently operates.

Columbia Park apartments almost ready for renters

Vertisee Heights Apartments, a new complex in the 1100 block of Columbia Park Trail in Richland, will begin preleasing units to renters in August. Vertisee is being built by Elite Construction and is owned by World Builders LLC, a joint venture of former Tri-Cities Fever players Lionell Singleton and Houston Lillard. The 24-unit property will be ready for move-in this winter.

TRI-CITIES AREA JOURNAL OF BUSINESS | JULY 2021 World Builders hired The Paragon Group of Richland to manage its new property.

Ninth Circuit rules for Yakama tribe in dispute

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled in favor of the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation in a long running dispute with Klickitat County over who has jurisdiction over 121,000 acres near Mt. Adams in a June 11 ruling. The ruling affirms the acres are within the reservation area as laid out by the Treaty of 1855. The dispute over the area known as Tract D, south of Mt. Adams, arose

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when the county attempted to prosecute a minor enrolled in the Tribe for acts that occurred within the disputed area. The Yakamas sued the county, noting the tribe and federal government share jurisdiction over certain criminal and civil offenses. The tribe asked the court to bar the county from exercising jurisdiction over its members for offenses arising within the reservation borders, including Tract D. The county countered that the tract was not part of the reservation. The courts disagreed. “The Ninth Circuit’s decision is a resounding victory for the rights that our ancestors reserved in the Treaty of 1855,” said Yakama Nation Tribal Council Chairman Delano Saluskin.

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Solgen Power National Headquarters 5715 Bedford St., Pasco

Solgen Power completed a $6.2 million project to create its solar-powered national headquarters at 5715 Bedford St. in Pasco in March. The 20,000-square-foot project has a modern, New York-style design. Solgen Power began in a garage and has grown into one of the fastest-growing solar companies in the nation in just over three and a half years. It employs more than 300 people and is growing. The project include 2.5 acres for new construction and expansion. Elite Construction built the project. Stephenie Monson of Valiant Design was the designer.

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Kamiakin High School 600 N. Arthur St., Kennewick

The Kennewick School District expects to complete major improvements to Kamiakin High School, 600 N. Arthur St., in July. The $17 million project was paid with proceeds of a bond authorized by voters in 2019. The project added 12 classrooms for special education, science, and career and technical education, bringing the school’s capacity to 2,000 students. The project includes added parking lot space and athletic field improvements, including a new track with artificial field turf infield for soccer and football, and replacing old tennis courts with eight new ones. Ryan Jones, the Kennewick School District’s capital projects manager, and Dustin Fisk, its project coordinator, led the work. The team included NAC Architecture, Alliance Management & Construction Solutions and Banlin Construction.

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J-U-B Engineers Inc. 3611 S. Zintel Way, Kennewick

The Kennewick office of J-U-B Engineers Inc. moved into a newly-built space at 3611 S. Zintel Way, near the intersection of Hildebrand Boulevard and Highway 395, in mid-June. It is the firm’s first move since it opened in Kennewick in 1977 and accommodates a staff that has grown to 50. The $4.5 million project includes a 14,500-square-foot, one-story building. J-U-B employs a mix of planners, GIS analysts, surveyors, CAD designers, engineers, construction observers and administrative staff. It focuses on local transportation and water and sewer projects for local governments, such as the cities of Kennewick, Richland Pasco and West Richland. It also works on irrigation systems for farms and food processing plants, airport improvements and other development projects. REA Commercial LLC of Kennewick was the contractor. Blue Room Architecture & Design of Veradale, Washington, was the designer. J-U-B planned to buy its building shortly after it moved in.

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Prosser High School 1500 Paterson Road, Prosser

The Prosser School District celebrated the grand opening of its new $60+ million high school with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on June 12. The district’s building permit for the 157,000-square-foot school is valued at more than $37 million. The school is next to Art Fiker Stadium at 1500 Paterson Road. It replaces the old school, which dated to the 1920s and was last renovated in 1999. The project was paid for with proceeds from a 2017 voter-approved bond and about $20 million in matching funds from the state. The school features a two-story atriumstyle entrance, sports fields, a performing arts facility and two gymnasiums. Chervenell Construction of Richland was the general contractor. Architects West was the architect.

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PUBLIC RECORD uBANKRUPTCIES Bankruptcies are filed under the following chapter headings: Chapter 7 — Straight Bankruptcy: debtor gives up non-exempt property and debt is discharged. 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 Erick G. Davis & Misty Elaine Fernandez Rivera, 1000 W. Fifth Ave., Apt. A307, Kennewick. Charles Earl Sollami, 5031 W. Clearwater Ave., Apt. 136, Kennewick. Adra A. Johnson, 739 S. Tacoma Place, Kennewick. Deborah Jane Carter, 3121 W. 30th Ave., #G101, Kennewick. Daniel Rae Abbott Jr. & Katherine Delores Abbott, PO Box 521, Lind. Noe Vazquez, 1115 N. Beech Ave., Pasco. Kristina Dawn Franklin, 4310 Angel Lake Court, West Richland. Paul Johnson & Jodi Johnson, 4402 Mount Adams View Drive, West Richland. Luke Tinnin, 9202 W. Gage Blvd., #DD204, Kennewick. Diane Aleesia Marsh & Linda Tucker Marsh, 2838 Monarch Lane, Richland. Flavia Christina Feliciano, 1905 Hood Ave., Richland. David S. Nabers, PO Box 1243, Richland. John Roohr & Amanda Roohr, 1409 Perkins Ave., Richland. Alyssa Miller, 2011 Crab Apple Circle, West Richland. Stanley Seguin & Marla Seguin, 188 McIntosh Court, Richland.

Tamiko Ishiguro Lizama, 1712 N. 24th Avenue, Apt. J-3, Pasco. Melissa Gilman, 4726 Forsythia St., West Richland. Jose Antonio Bravo Vergara, PO Box 27, Connell.

CHAPTER 13 Jason Powers, PO Box 4875, West Richland. Tammy L. Trusty, 22 Cosmic Lane, Richland. Jay Raymond Colgan & Tina Marie Perez, 6911 W. Bonnie Ave., Kennewick. Christopher Daniel Unser, 311 Casey Ave., Richland. Jeffrey Carl Schumacher & Diana Sue Schumacher, 5319 Bakerloo Lane, Pasco.

uTOP PROPERTIES BENTON COUNTY 1725 W. 52nd Ave., Kennewick, 2,963-square-foot home. Price: $719,000. Buyer: Darren J. Wagoner & Joan White-Wagoner. Seller: James E. & Sheila L. Gamin Trustees. 3700 W. 49th Ave., Kennewick, 2,538-square-foot home. Price: $840,000. Buyer: Ana L. Brainard. Seller: TMT Homes NW LLC. 77345 E. Country Heights Drive, Kennewick, 5,609-square-foot home on 2 acres. Price: $1 million. Buyer: Timothy Cory Rubio. Seller: Christian A. & Melinda L. Linde. 75501 E. Grand Bluff Loop, Kennewick, 2,691-square-foot home. Price: $700,000. Buyer: Belinda K. McDermott & Terry R. McDermott Jr. Seller: Robert E. & Traci K. Wells. 1286 Jolianna Drive, Richland, 3,103-square-foot home. Price: $859,000. Buyer: Joshua M. & Jolynn D.

Gately. Seller: Prodigy Homes. 5809 W. Clearwater Ave., Kennewick, 12,296- and 14,119-square-foot apartment buildings on 2.4 acres. Price: $4.3 million. Buyer: KEI Apartments Fund 10 LLC. Seller: Great Western Partners LLC. 1123 N. Grant Place, Kennewick, 7,498-square-foot office/dental clinic. Price: $1.6 million. Buyer: BRK LLP. Seller: Roberts Investments LLC. 5615 W. Umatilla Ave., 83,560-squarefoot assisted living center on 4 acres. Price: $4.5 million. Buyer: Greenlake Columbian LLC. Seller: Royal Columbian WA LLC. 160 Bradley Blvd., Richland, 2,332-square-foot home. Price: $875,000. Buyer: Barbara H. Collop. Seller: Robert L. & Catherina A. Ferguson. 444 Bradley Blvd., Unit 8, Richland, 3,310-square-foot home. Price: $1 million. Buyer: Paul T. & Lynn T. Manolopoulos. Seller: John & Christine Sappington. 610, 703, 627 & 619 N. Tweedt, Kennewick, multiple apartment buildings. Price: $5.1 million. Buyer: Peak Real Estate LLC. Seller: Armstrong Properties LLC. 4912 W. 20th Ave., Kennewick, 5,415-square-foot home. Price: $1.4 million. Buyer: Andrew Claude Smith Trustee. Seller: DLO Properties LP. 508 Ferrara Parkway, Richland, 2,343-square-foot home. Price: $840,000. Buyer: Mark Allen & Tammy Renae Elliott. Seller: Ferrara Parkway LLC. 801 Aaron Drive, Richland, 2.3 acres of commercial land. Price: $1.6 million. Buyer: Western Holdings LLC. Seller: Zenitram Properties II. 505 Cabernet Court, Prosser, 7,844-square-foot retail/warehouse building on 1.7 acres of commercial land. Price: $1 million. Buyer: Wit Cellars LLC. Seller: Robert A. & Christine L. Gamache. Property north of Gardner Street in

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West Richland, 12 acres of irrigated ag land. Price: $973,000. Buyer: Aho Construction Inc. Seller: Frank Tiegs LLC. 8200 W. Grandridge Blvd., Kennewick, 9,320-square-foot office building. Price: $3.1 million. Buyer: Reje LLC. Seller: Kennewick 3 LLC. 2410 Allison Way, Richland, 2,859-square-foot home. Price: $790,000. Buyer: Kenneth & Shannon Olsen. Seller: Landmark Homes of Washington Inc. 8108 W. Gage Blvd., Kennewick, 6,618-square-foot restaurant on 1.5 acres. Price: $1.6 million. Buyer: Bling Enterprises. Seller: Columbia Center Commercial LLC. 6061 Oasis St., West Richland, 3,324-square-foot home. Price: $710,000. Buyer: Ramona Teresa LynnGoldberg. Seller: Muzzy Construction LLC. 386 Columbia Point Drive, Unit 102, Richland, 3,349-square-foot home. Price: $1.1 million. Buyer: Jim & Mary Wise. Seller: Edward W. & Joan K. Lusty. 674 Isola Vista Court, Richland, 3,776-square-foot home. Price: $1 million. Buyer: Jibesh R. Saha & Batoui G. Moghaddam. Seller: Gary A. & Nancy A. Carpenter. 525 Summerview Lane, Richland, 3,011-square-foot home. Price: $750,000. Buyer: Jennifer & Darren Drake. Seller: Xingyuan Chen. 534 Summerview Lane, Richland, 3,328-square-foot home. Price: $724,000. Buyer: Todd Ryan Krahenbuhl & Kimberly Ann Wiessner. Seller: Tri-City Remodel LLC. 42622 & 40404 E. Christy Road, Plymouth, 1,848-square-foot manufactured home, 1,000-square-foot home, 960-square-foot home, 14,000-squarefoot commercial building on 423 acres. Price: $3.8 million. Buyer: Plymouth

uPUBLIC RECORD, Page B24

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Ranch LLC. Seller: Frank Tiegs LLC. 3301 Kingsgate Way, Richland, 6,720-square-foot commercial building on 10 acres. Price: $925,000. Buyer: Mallard Lake Properties LLC. Seller: Golden Valley LLC. 5101 Coulee Vista Drive, Kennewick, 2,508-square-foot building. Price: $725,000. Buyer: Chad D. & Rita Robin Whiting. Seller: Frederick J. & Holly Holmes. 812 Vineyard Drive, 16,416-square-foot commercial building on 2.4 acres. Price: $1.8 million. Buyer: James V. McDonald Trustee. Seller: Richard A. & Suzanne M. Cordes. 8202 W. Quinault Ave., Suite B, Kennewick, 3,030-square-foot commercial building. Price: $750,000. Buyer: Q3 LLC. Seller: Dan & Kris Houston. 2343 Skyview Loop, Richland, 3,070-square-foot home. Price:

$707,000. Buyer: Paul & Beverly Evans. Seller: Pahlisch Homes at Westcliffe Heights LLC.

FRANKLIN COUNTY 11626 Blackhawk Court, Pasco, 0.78 acres of undeveloped land. Price: $895,000. Buyer: William H. & Kendra Moos. Seller: Titan Homes LLC. 11720 Quail Run Road, 3,352-squarefoot home. Price: $775,000. Buyer: Ken & Brenda Lucas. Seller: Darci Rae Jo. 1401 Road 79, Pasco, 2,919-squarefoot home. Price: $725,000. Buyer: Brett Kujath (et al). Seller: Brian A. & Bethany L. McCance. 220 Carr Road, Pasco, 3,055-squarefoot home on 5 acres. Price: $811,000. Buyer: Stacey Kay Miles-Snyder. Seller: Green Acre Estates LLC. Property west of South Oregon Av-

enue, Pasco, 28 acres of undeveloped land. Price: $3 million. Buyer: Grow Bounti Northwest LLC. Seller: Snake River Agriculture LLC. 2020 N. Commercial Ave., 7,260-square-foot warehouse, 1,440-square-foot office building on 1.5 acres. Price: $874,000. Buyer: Pasco Partners LLC. Seller: Lekos Seed Company Inc. 6614 Gallatin Road, Pasco, 0.59 acres of undeveloped land. Price: $757,253. Buyer: Shawn C. & Elizabeth H. Peterson. Seller: Hammerstrom Construction Inc. 1300 Buffalo Road, Othello, 896-square-foot home, pole/shop building on 217 acres of ag land. Price: $2.2 million. Buyer: Frenchman Hills Farms LLC. Seller: 1 Chronicles 29:11 LLC. Property off Highway 395, 28 acres. Price: $3 million. Buyer: Reser’s Fine

Foods Inc. Seller: Cox Family Land LLC. Property off Highway 395, 55 acres. Price: $4.4 million. Buyer: Port of Pasco. Seller: Cox Family Land LLC. 12412 Blackfoot Drive, Pasco, 0.55 acres of undeveloped land. Price: $704,000. Buyer: Jerry & Tammy Wubber. Seller: Hammerstrom Construction Inc.

uBUILDING PERMITS BENTON COUNTY Olsen Brothers, 46002 N. District Line Road NW, $216,000 for new commercial. Contractor: Koreski General Construction. Nancy Kay Strom, 22206 E. Kennedy Road, $204,000 for commercial remodel. Contractor: owner. AT&T, 64899 Bofer Canyon Road, $10,000 for antenna/tower. Contractor: Mastec Network Solutions. American Tower, 3551 PR 210, $14,000 for antenna/tower. Contractor: Joy Inc. Finely General Store, 214410 E. Highway 397, $84,000 for commercial addition. Contractor: Rapid Service Inc.

KENNEWICK Steve Buckingham, 3113 W. Seventh Ave., $499,000 for multifamily housing. Contractor: Platinum. PMI Holdings, 911 W. Entiat Ave., $6.4 million for multifamily homes. Contractor: PMI Inc. Hogback Southridge, 3631 Plaza Way, $650,000 for new commercial. Contractor: Stephens & Sons Construction. Fortunato Inc., 6500 W. Clearwater Ave., $25,000 for commercial remodel. Contractor: Capstone Solutions Inc. Harvest States, 900 E. Columbia, $253,000 for new commercial, $16,000 for heat pump/HVAC, $5,300 for plumbing. Contractors: McBoyz Contracting, Home Electrical Service, Melbye’s Plumbing LLC. Kovalik & Associate, 6705 W. Canal Drive, $23,000 for tenant improvements. Contractor: Columbia Property Maintenance. Highlands Center, 151 N. Ely St., $44,000 for commercial reroof. Contractor: Palmer Roofing Inc. Caott LLC, 3902 W. Clearwater Ave., $18,000 for tenant improvements. Contractor: Robison Construction & Remodeling. Kovalik & Associates, 6705 W. Canal Drive, $141,000 for commercial remodel. Contractor: Cameron & Co. VHP Kennewick, 910 S. Columbia Center Blvd., $5,000 for demolition, $239,000 for tenant improvements. Contractors: Smith Insulation Inc., Kitt Construction & Development. MGSC LLC, 2615 W. Kennewick Ave., $14,000 for sign. Contractor: Yesco LLC. Columbia Mall Partnership, 1321 N. Columbia Centr Blvd., $10,500 for sign. Contractor: Mustang Sign Group. C K WA Corporation, 1010 E. Chemical Drive, $10,000 for commercial remodel. Contractor: All Star Construction Group. Hogback Columbia Center, 1659 N. Columbia Center Blvd., $45,000 for tenant improvements. Contractor: Hoang Construction LLC. Kennewick School District, 6411 W. 38th Ave., $35,500 for new commercial. Contractor: Pacific Mobile Structures. Columbia Center Investments LLC, 1102 N. Columbia Center Blvd., $125,000 for tenant improvement, $15,000 for heat pump/HVAC, $20,000 for plumbing. Contractors: Hummel Con-

uPUBLIC RECORD, Page B25

TRI-CITIES AREA JOURNAL OF BUSINESS | JULY 2021 struction & Development, Total Energy Management, Columbia River Plumbing & Mechanical. Troy Reimer, 5612 W. Clearwater Ave., $14,000 for commercial reroof. Contractor: Columbia Roofing Inc.

PASCO BMB Investments LLC, 9613 Sandifur Parkway, $21,000 for sign. Contractor: Yesco LLC. Zepgon Investments, 2120 W. A St., $293,000 for commercial addition. Contractor: Columbia River Walk Development. Cox Family Land LLC, Parcel 113 130 450, $250,000 for grading. Contractor: to be determined. BS Group LC, 5818 Industrial Way, $3.8 million for new commercial. Contractor: W McKay Construction LLC. Columbia Basin College, 2600 N. 20th Ave., $19,000 for tenant improvements. Contractor: Burton Construction Inc. Confederated Tribes of Colville Reservation, 2251 E. Kartchner St., $75,000 for new commercial. Contractor: Pacific Mobile Structures. Andrew H. Landram, 1828 W. Lewis St., $8,700 for tenant improvements. Contractor: owner. Mauricio Larios, 404 W. Lewis St., $9,200 for tenant improvements. Contractor: owner. Pasco Conference of the Society of Vincent DePaul, 215 S. Sixth Ave., $41,000 for commercial addition. Contractor: Romm Construction. Martha Padilla, 410 W. Lewis St., $42,000 for commercial reroof. Contractor: VW Quality Roofing LLC. Cox Family Land LLC, Parcel 113 130 450, $500,000 for new commercial. Contractor: to be determined. 7HA Family LLC, Parcel 115 170 69, $35,000 for grading. Contractor: to be determined. Circle K Stores Inc., 4823 Broadmoor Blvd., $15,000 for commercial addition. Contractor: to be determined. TC Greek Orthodox Church, 627 W. Bonneville St., $9,800 for commercial reroof. Contractor: Mikeds LLC. Peccas Properties, 5810 Industrial Way, $12,000 for commercial addition. Con-

tractor: All Seasons Contractors LLC. New Dream Investors, 2805 E. A St., $261,300 for new commercial. Contractor: Vinci Homes. Rutt Rental LLC, 1103 E. Columbia St., $20,000 for antenna/tower. Contractor: to be determined. Brantingham Enterprises, 1417 E. St. Helens St., $29,000 for tenant improvements. Contractor: CRF Metal Works LLC. CMJ Properties LLC, 2920 Travel Plaza Way, $25,000 for commercial remodel. Contractor: CRF Metal Works LLC. Eleuco Hernandez, 626 W. Lewis St., $6,000 for tenant improvements. Contractor: owner. Circle K Stores Inc., 4805 Road 68, $27,000 for commercial reroof. Contractor: Roof Masters Construction. Zion Autos LLC, 1424 N. Fourth Ave., $9,000 for commercial addition. Contractor: Tri-Cities Asphalt.

RICHLAND Dule Mehic, 2454 Henderson Loop, $511,000 for new commercial. Contractor: DM General Builder. Tapteal Properties, 2001 N. Columbia Center Blvd., $325,000 for tenant improvements. Contractor: Bales Construction Inc. Kadlec Medical Center, 888 Swift Blvd., $376,000 for tenant improvements. Contractor: Bouten Construction Co. Washington Securities & Investment Corp., 2250 Keene Road, $200,000 for new construction. Contractor: owner. Washington Securities & Investment Corp., 1007 Knight St., $110,000 for commercial remodel. Contractor: Schuchart Corp. Walmart, 2801 Duportail St., $200,000 for tenant improvements. Contractor: Engineered Structures. 42nd St. Properties, 965 Goethals Drive, $8,400 for tenant improvements. Contractor: Fast Construction. Energy Northwest, 350 Hills St., $24,000 tenant improvements. Contractor: Bestebreur Bros. Construction. P & L Land Co., 850 Aaron Drive, $20,000 for commercial reroof. Contractor: Silver Bow Roofing. Richland Investments, 1515 George

Washington Way, $100,000 for tenant improvements. Contractor: Cliff Thorn Construction. Tri-Cities Food Bank, 321 Wellsian Way, $120,000 for accessory building. Contractor: Cliff Thorn Construction. Zenitram Properties, 901 Aaron Drive, $82,000 for tenant improvements. Contractor: W McKay Construction LLC.

uBUSINESS LICENSES KENNEWICK

Conrtec, Inc., 12641 N. Humphreys Way, Boise, Idaho. Bjorn Johnson Construction, LLC, 410 Expressway Missoula, Montana. Armadillo Boring, Inc., 1980 Oxford St. SE, Salem, Oregon. Riverside Sunglasses and More, 913 E. 10th Ave. Jeff Smart LLC, 636 N. Colorado St. Harrington Tower Services Inc., 3515 S. Ferdinand St., Seattle. Glen Cove Press LLC, 1030 N. Center Pkwy. Messer Motoren Werke LLC, 427 S. Penn St. Gilbert Patterson Concrete Inc., 470 Collins Lane, Wapato. Gabby’s Little Corner, 132 Vista Way. MCP Helping Hands Pto, 5980 W. 12th Ave. MacDonald-Miller Facility Solutions Inc., 7717 Detroit Ave. SW, Seattle. Bos Rentals, 5238 S. Quincy Place. Carlisle Enterprises Inc., 2417 N. Road 52, Pasco. R. L. Smart Inc., 401 S. Young Place. Vista Pain Center Inc., 8904 W. Tucannon Ave. Bruce Mechanical Inc., 5115 W. Brinkley Road, Ste C. Bellevue Healthcare Tri Cities, 223 W. First Ave. Oscar’s Tree Service, 3805 W. Seventh Ave.

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Atomic Cosmetic, 3605 S. Ely St. Global Concepts Construction LLC, 400 14th St., Benton City. FJ Electric LLC, 1312 Dazet Road, Yakima. Rls Custom Woodworking LLC, 49205 S. Carrol PR SE. United Fence Co. LLC, 4120 Melody Lane, Pasco. Imperial NN Construction LLC, 125 E. Main St., Monroe. Our Spot, 4311 W. Hood Ave. V&J Janitorial Services LLC, 1515 N. 17th Ave., Pasco. Kettle Corn Factory, 6009 Bayview Lane, Pasco. K And J Pest, 2183 Cascade Ave., Richland. Katie Haynes LLC, 5453 Ridgeline Drive. Pahlisch Select, 1020 N. Center Pkwy. Luma Wholesale, 4018 W. Clearwater Ave. Vital Kneads, 408 S. Roosevelt St. Eden’s Lawn Care, 732 W. Leola St., Pasco. Two Oaks, 1631 S. Everett Place. T-Rex Landscaping LLC, 1032 N. 62nd Ave., West Richland. Jersey Mike’s, 1659 N. Columbia Center Blvd. The Collectors Corner, 2527 W. Kennewick Ave. Renovation Properties LLC, 8842 W. First Ave. Curt Beus Construction, 3121 W. Hood Ave. Twin City Masonry & Flooring LLC, 6010 Kent Lane, Pasco. Gutters & More Construction LLC, 4219 Kitimat Lane, Pasco. J and W General Contracting, 1217 N. Dawes St. Top Caliber, 10251 Ridgeline Drive. Paradise Pastures LLC, 510 N. Neel St. Mitchell Men Handyman Services LLC, 220 S. Fillmore St.

uPUBLIC RECORD, Page B26

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TRI-CITIES AREA JOURNAL OF BUSINESS | JULY 2021

J&H Cleaning Services Inc., 615 S. Waldemar Ave., Pasco. Eden Landscaping & Tree Service LLC, 127 E. Sixth Ave. Drywall Tech, 601 S. Kent St. JST Enterprises LLC, 420 W. Shoshone St., Pasco. T N T Nails and Spa, 5623 W. Clearwater Ave. DPC Quality Construction LLC, 2319 W. 20th Ave. Sell It To Archibald’s, 6855 W. Clearwater Ave. BG Interior Construction LLC., 318 Goethals Drive, Richland. Remington, Austin Jacob, 726 N. Nevada Court Matchbox Glass LLC, 4111 W. Clearwater Ave. Jewelez, 1304 N. Cleveland St. Cardenas Construction, 4790 Road R NW, Quincy. Sunrise Medical Consultants LLC, 8901 W. Tucannon Ave.

Limitless Transportation LLC, 804 S. Everett St. Zen Leaf LLC, 3310 S. Lincoln St. J&N Garcia’s House Cleaning, 5629 W. Metaline Ave. Philocaly Lingerie Boutique, 2417 W. Kennewick Ave. 44 North LLC, 100 N. Morain St. Electricvibezartwork, 1623 W. First Ave. Bonzer Creations, 2505 W. Grand Ronde Place. Padron Flooring, 5117 W. Seventh Ave. Framer For You LLC, 23802 N. Willard Ave., Benton City. Diverse Unified Educational, 1212 S. Kellogg St. Hamaker Properties, 5609 W. 24th Ave. Columbia Basin Psychiatric Solutions, 8518 W. Gage Blvd. Backflow Tri-Cities, 3303 Luna Drive, Pasco. Shorty’z Trucking LLC, 3906 S. Quincy St. Fialka Construction Specialists, 828 W.

Grand Ronde Ave. Pink Flamingo Tattoo LLC, 417 W. First Ave. Croskrey Development LLC, 1020 N. Center Pkwy. Zabetcak LLC, 3324 W. 19th Ave. Diamond In the Rough, 1360 N. Louisiana St. Bee Nails & Spa Lounge LLC, 7903 W. Grandridge Blvd. Badger Mountain Drug Testing, 5713 W. 14th Ave. Taste of Wok LLC, 4215 Desert Place, Pasco. Evolution Transport LLC, 5501 W. Hildebrand Blvd. Smart Comprehensive Health, 811 S. Auburn St. One Call Home Services LLC, 71 Whisperwoods Drive, Newport. Chugh LLP, 602 N. Colorado St. Get Right Boutique, 814 E. Eighth Ave. Hanna K. Voegele, 10121 W. Clearwater Ave. Smart Styles, 2720 S. Quillan St. All Star Contracting LLC, 3324 W. 19th Ave. Essential Mobile RV Repair LLC, 321 S. Highland Drive. Cori Ward PLLC, 8918 W. Entiat Ave. Innovative Foto, 1380 N. Louisiana St. Tri-City Sports LLC, 320 W. Entiat Ave. EcoATM LLC, 5204 W. Clearwater Ave. Doug Thomas Real Estate Group LLC, 830 N. Columbia Center Blvd. Lifestyle Psychiatry, MD, 8350 W. Grandridge Blvd. Non-Fiction, 894 Tulip Lane, Richland. Innovative Foto, 1321 N. Columbia Center Blvd. Dino Drop-in, 6705 W. Canal Drive. Philip Snider, MBA | Realtor, 3523 Polo Greens Ave., West Richland. Elizabeth Mendoza, 8712 Gatwick Court, Pasco. Mid-Columbia Pest Control, 64308 N. River Road, Benton City. Columbia River Cakes, 8679 W. 12th Ave.

Samax Transport, 5501 W. Hildebrand Blvd. V&N Delivery, 1114 W. 10th Ave. Premier Driving School, 101 N. Union St. Hair By Hannah Rian, 1350 N. Louisiana St. Lopez Lawn Care, 6511 W. Kennewick Court. Colored By Bella, 212005 E. Cochran Road. Click Stampede, 6560 W. 33rd Place. Indaba Coffee, 8530 W. Gage Blvd. CBPC LLC, 8904 W. Tucannon Ave. L&M Construction, 3512 Estrella Drive, Pasco. Dave Barr, CLU, LLC, 805 N. Reed Place. Allure Salon, 2411 S. Union St. Smart Comprehensive Health PLLC, 811 S. Auburn St. Superior Image Painting LLC, 8350 W. Grandridge Blvd. Mahri Davis, 4300 W. 15th Ave. Three Rivers Estate Sales, 3019 Duportail St. #234, Richland. Robert Krug Agency LLC, 6855 W. Clearwater Ave. Tri-City Family Wellness, 460 N. Arthur St. Sunny Daze Adventure Rentals, 25703 S. Sunset Meadow Loop. 509 Automotive Services, 121 S. Ely St. Sushi Mori, 1350 N. Louisiana St. Asylum Aesthetics LLC, 513 N. Edison St. Waldo’s Custom Décor, 1804 W. 11th Ave. Sue’s Mobile Notary Services, 8817 W. Imnaha Court DR Craft Shop LLC, 2308 S. Benton St. DX Man Auto Service LLC, 3324 W. 19th Ave. Integrated Experience Institute, 8813 W. Grand Ronde Ave. Kswapped, 3703 W. Kennewick Ave. Jose J. Martinez, 3180 W. Clearwater Ave. 3 Chicks Gift Shop & Boutique, 5009 W. Clearwater Ave. Livin The Dream Stop & Shop LLC, 118 Vista Way. Jorden W Massage, 5219 W. Clearwater Ave. RNB Properties LLC, 2008 199th St. E., Spanaway. The Cookie Bar, 1681 April Loop, Richland. Spark Peer Learning Center, 1030 N. Center Pkwy. Falls Creek Outdoors LLC, 3815 W. Seventh Ave. Dickey’s Barbecue Pit, 122 S. Ely St. Ring Bar, 1321 N. Columbia Center Blvd. Bonsai Blend, 32206 S. Clodfelter Road. Len’s Flowers & Microgreens, 101 SW Bennett Ave., Prosser. Abdullah Alkanan, BDS, PLLC, 7409 W. Grandridge Blvd. Rocco’s Pizza, 7911 W. Grandridge Blvd. Hair And Nails with Kam, 8019 W. Quinault Ave. McLean Counseling & Consulting PLLC, 211 W. Kennewick Ave. Marya’s Cleaning Services, 1809 S. Huntington Place. Delicate Secret, 3523 W. Hood Ave. G & H Cleaning Service, 2504 E. Alvina St., Pasco. Kelly Menter, 101 N. Union St. K. Reynolds Construction LLC, 18360 NE Bald Peak Road, Newberg, Oregon. Michels Pipeline Inc., 817 Main St., Brownsville, Wisconsin. Sunbelt Rentals Inc., 2341 Deerfield Drive, Fort Mill, South Carolina. Swaggart Brothers Inc., 31989 Feedville Road, Stanfield, Oregon. Market Contractors Ltd., 10250 NE Marx St., Portland, Oregon. Gray West Construction Inc., 421 E. Cerritos Ave., Anaheim, California. CTR Spokane, 905 Diagonal Blvd., Hermiston, Oregon.

uPUBLIC RECORD, Page B27

TRI-CITIES AREA JOURNAL OF BUSINESS | JULY 2021 Lozano’s Remodel LLC, 123 N. Wilbur Ave., Walla Walla. Tri-City Racing Association, 1500 S. Oak. Pringle Orchards, 5400 S. Garfield St. North Sound Refrigeration Inc., 6188 Portal Way, Ferndale. Tri-Cities Elk Lodge, #2755 So-1229, 15 S. Colorado. Brandon’s Carpet, 98603 E. Christine Drive. Leggari Products LLC, 2451 W. 49th Ave. Pallis Pool & Patio, 201 N. Fruitland St. Systematic Wood Designs LLC, 909 Main St., Walla Walla. Viktor’s Finish & Flooring, 1505 S. Coulee Vista Drive. Integrity Construction Solutions, 216 W. 52nd Ave. A.C.A Professional Services, 1925 W. 15th Ave. Bonsai Audio LLC, 523 W. Albany Ave. Dirtkart, 125 S. Arthur St., Spokane. At B and B Enterprises, 1003 Pattyton Lane, Richland. Jones Building & Design LLC, 10608 S. 2083 PR SE. Northwest Health and Safety Network Corp., 315 Ferncrest Road, Longview. Nico Solutions LLC, 1207 N. Quebec St. Yellowstone Ventures LLC, 639 Cullum Ave., Richland. M&M Pools and More LLC, 2341 W. 22nd Ave. Media By Meghan, 1901 S. Lyle St. Oviedo Technologies LLC, 3784 S. Nelson St. Tomorrow’s Health, 4309 W. 27th Place. Northwest Premier Auto Sales, 4083 W. Van Giesen St., West Richland. Cavazos Construction LLC, 1730 W. 14th Ave. Co3 Remodeling LLC, 439 E. 15th

Place. Pampas Landcare And More LLC, 1835 W. Park St., Pasco. Top Caliber, 10251 Ridgeline Drive. Elite, 1730 W. 14th Ave. G & B Construction, 1700 S. Kellogg St. C&J Quality Construction, 1114 W. 10th Ave. Alt Private Care, 1548 N. Edison St. Arrow Point Roofing LLC, 4326 N. Maringo Drive, Spokane. Perfection Flooring LLC, 2105 N. Steptoe St. Raptor Concrete Coatings LLC, 4004 W. 47th Court. The Beveled Angle, 6151 Teak Lane, West Richland. Exterior Home Experts, 3608 S. Quincy Place. Mendoza Pro Painting LLC, 616 S. Sycamore Ave., Pasco. Pasha’s Construction LLC, 189325 E. 36th Ave. At B and B Enterprises LLC, 1003 Pattyton Lane, Richland. Doug Does That Contracting, 2329 W. 15th Place. Rivas Flooring LLC, 1030 N. Center Parkway. Northwest Heating and Air Conditioning LLC, 210605 E. Perkins Road. JB Construction, 1233 Columbia Park Trail, Richland. Mendoza Pro Floors, 6612 Gehrig Drive, Pasco. Dryden, Darrin, 216 W. 52nd Ave. Movement Mortgage LLC, 8378 W. Grandridge Blvd. Silvawood Ventures LLC, 2839 W. Kennewick Ave. Suds N Sun, 725 N. Center Pkwy. Shrub Steppe Trails Alliance, 1017 E. Eastlake Drive. CCH Transport Solutions Corp, 6855

W. Clearwater Ave. Animal House Self Service Dog Grooming LLC, 10121 W. Clearwater Ave. HMS Ventures Inc., 3001 W. 10th Ave. Cobb Printing, 801 S. Ione St. Johnson, Kathleen Marie, 731 N. Columbia Center Blvd. Vladimir Savchuk Ministries, 1592 W. 52nd Ave. Gerds, Carlee, 7139 W. Hood Place. Roma Design Service, 2370 Cottontail Lane, Richland. Mixer Roofing LLC, 420 Wright Ave., Richland. Majestic Keepsakes, 701 W. 44th Place. Vance, Alexandria Morgan, 2411 S. Union St. 323 Properties, 405 S. Kansas St. Willow Transport LLC, 2016 W. 28th Place. Three Rivers Nursing LLC, 33 S. Waverly St. Paci Northwest Natural Aromas and Body LLC, 1126 N. Cleveland St. Blooming Family Gardens, 2005 S. Quincy Place. Lawk Star Guitars LLC, 2028 W. 30th Place. Hart & Soul LLC, 504 N. Fruitland St. CD Landscaping & Construction LLC, 2011 E. Helena St., Pasco. Grandridge Safe Storage, 8122 W. Grandridge Blvd. Babyyjglam, 5501 W. Hildebrand Blvd. Rick Ralston, 3223 W. 22nd Ave. FA Enterprises, 116 S. Cascade St. Ochoa Transportation, 4321 W. Hood Ave.

PASCO La Cantina, 2735 W. Court St., D. Great Basin Water Company Inc., 3035

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Rickenbacker Drive. Julian Maldonado, 8318 W. Gage Blvd., Suite F, Kennewick. Columbia Roofing Inc., 1904 N. Fourth Ave. Eden’s Irrigation & Landscaping, 732 W. Leola St. Remix Nightclub LLC, 101 W. Columbia St. Detail & Care, 5102 Sinai Drive. Tienda La Chiquita, N. Fourth Ave., #119. Booty & Body Sculpting by Blanca LLC, 4111 Galway Lane. Iglesia Apostolica De La Fe En Cristo Jesus, 3211 W. Wernett Road. S. Boys Farms, 447 Monument Drive, Burbank. Rancho Meat Market #2, 8425 Chapel Hill Blvd., C101. Smoovies LLC, 6520 Homerun Road. Aer-touch By Road, 20405 E. Ruppert Road, Benton City. Non-Fiction, 894 Tulip Lane, Richland. Simple Maid at Home Cleaning, 719 W. Clark St., #723. Steve Hanson, 2400 Road 80. A&E LOGISTICS LLC, 2514 W. Opal St. Acevedo Analy, 1221 S. 13th Lane. Amrita & Bear, 6501 Springer Lane. St. Patrick’s Catholic Church, 1320 W. Henry St. Liz The Barber, 6413 W. Court St., #6421. Restaurante El Asadero, 2318 W. Court St. Contreras Murillo & Associates, 4003 Antigua Drive. Ambro Fruit, 705 Gemstone St., Apt. D201, Othello. Amigo Cellphone Repair, 402 W. Lewis St. Zapateria & Modas Flor, 1212 N. 20th Ave., A.

uPUBLIC RECORD, Page B28

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TRI-CITIES AREA JOURNAL OF BUSINESS | JULY 2021 Maquis House Cleaning Services, 18 S. Rainier St., Kennewick. Backflow Tri-Cities LLC, 3303 Luna Drive. Cricket Wireless, 4911 Road 68, C. Ester C Romero dba Fashion Shakira, 1212 N. 20th Ave. Tri-Cities Juneteenth Community Council, 330 S. Wehe Ave. Gutters & More Construction LLC, 4219 Kitimat Lane. Ruiz Repairs LLC, 1505 S. Road 40 E., #152. Yakima Mechanical, 205 S. Fourth Ave., Yakima. Raptor Concrete Coatings LLC, 4004 W. 47th Court, Kennewick. La Cantina Mobile Bar LLC, 1920 Road 33. Co3 Remodeling LLC, 439 E. 15th Place, Kennewick. Integrity Construction, 216 W. 52nd Ave., Kennewick. Suds N Sun, 725 N Center Parkway, Apt. W101, Kennewick. Michels Pipeline Inc., 817 Main St., Brownsville, Wisconsin. David Mcclain - Via, 1702 W. 25th Place, Kennewick. G.S. Long Co Inc., 2805 St. Andrews Loop. Daniel D Quillen - Via, 1709 W. 24th Place, Kennewick. Marthas Rentals Party Supplies, 4815 W. Clearwater Ave., #108, Kennewick. Eddie’s Construction, 200802 E. Game Farm Road, #42, Kennewick. Pasco Barrel Bros LLC, 9407 NE Vancouver Mall Drive, Vancouver. Bright Klean Services, 8504 Queensbury Drive. Jason Sperling-via, 1845 McPherson Ave., Richland. Roma Design Service, 2370 Cottontail

Lane, Richland. The Beveled Angle LLC, 6151 Teak Lane, West Richland. Arrow Point Roofing LLC, 4326 N. Mariango Drive, Spokane. Hairmasters, 5210 Road 68, H. Hamm-err Down Construction LLC, 6203 Three Rivers Drive. Cavazos Construction LLC, 1730 W. 14th Ave., Kennewick. DPC Quality Construction LLC, 2319 W. 20th Ave., Kennewick. Elite, 1730 W. 14th Ave., Kennewick. Fialka Construction Specialists, 828 W. Grand Ronde Ave., Unit A, Kennewick. Framer For You LLC, 23802 N. Willards Ave., Benton City. Imperial Cleaning Services LLC, 4811 Corinth Drive. Vicente N. Ochoa, 4321 W. Hood Ave., #49, Kennewick. LR General Construction LLC, 725 N. Roosevelt St., Walla Walla. M&J General Construction LLC, 218036 E. SR 397, Kennewick. Creative Wood Works, 4114 Des Moines Lane. Made 2 Clean LLC, 313 Road 35. Tri-City Family Wellness, 460 N. Arthur St., Apt C101, Kennewick. Dindi Gould- Via, 5694 W. 41st Ave., Kennewick. Pasha’s Construction LLC, 189325 E. 36th Ave., Kennewick. Castro Elizabeth, 6120 Candlestick Drive. Desert View Construction, 2718 W. Seventh Ave., Kennewick. Richard Ralston-Via, 3223 W. 22nd Ave., Kennewick. Heidi Sommerville, 2721 Road 57. Carrson Ag LLC, 8425 Chapel Hill Blvd. Julio Cabrera, 1315 N. 18th Ave.

uPUBLIC RECORD, Page B29

TRI-CITIES AREA JOURNAL OF BUSINESS | JULY 2021 S&D Construction, 1431 Kimball Ave., Richland. Bianca Miller Realtor LLC, 3067 S. Edison Court, Kennewick. Northwest Health and Safety Network, P315 Ferncrest Road, Longview. Maitas Child Care LLC, 3206 Paz Court. Doug Does That Contracting, 2329 W. 15th Place, Kennewick. Wood & Works, 200814 E. Bernath Road, Kennewick. Silvawood Ventures LLC, 2839 W. Kennewick. Ave., #529, Kennewick. Vincent Donihee-Via, 707 Willard Ave., Richland. Good Hands Lawn and Tree, 246 W. 23rd Place, Kennewick. Power Up Electric Alezra Pools, 105507 E. Tripple Vista Drive, Kennewick. Austin De Paolo-Via, 116 S. Cascade St., Kennewick. Adair Jimenez-Via, 612 S. Garfield St., Kennewick. Jose Cecilio Muniz Osornio-Lyft, 1416 N. First Ave., #007.

RICHLAND Nobis Technology LLC, 108 E. Tanglebriar Court, Bastrop, Texas. Lake City Powerwash & Cart Service LLC, 3642 Covington Ave., Post Falls, Idaho. APN Inc. Dba APG-Neuros, 1270 Michéle-Bohec, Blainville, Quebec, Canada. Len Hufford Construction Co., 5225 NE Millican Lane, McMinnville, Oregon. Kestrel Works, 1034 Fourth Ave. E. Kalispell, Montana. Elements Boutique, 1105 Cedar Ave. Yakima Mechanical, 205 S. Fourth Ave., Yakima. Advanced Mechanical Systems Inc., 6315 E. Sharp Ave., Spokane Valley. Ascendent LLC, 219th 12th St. SE, Puyallup Northwest Striping & Sealing LLC, 839 N. Corriedale Road, Yakima. Sawby Construction, 4411 Rosencrans Road, West Richland. All West Floor Covering & Cabinets LLC, 110 Wellsian Way. Neppel Electrical & Controls LLC, 1403 Wheeler Road NE, Moses Lake.

Prater Electric Inc., 28806 S. 816 PR SE, Kennewick. Medina Brothers Construction LLC, 1524 W. Seventh Place, Kennewick. Dakota Concrete, 4509 W. Pearl St., Pasco. Elizabeth Rodriguez dba Triple A’s Trucking, 1618 Meadow Hills Drive. TC Brokers, 1111 Chinook Drive. Traffic Management Inc., 1846 Terminal Drive. Carlisle Enterprises Inc., 2417 N. Road 52 Pasco. The Chimney Guy LLC, 3216 S. Gum St., Kennewick. Tammy F. Lutes, 6605 Burden Blvd., Pasco. 16D LLC, 10602 SW 110th St., Vashon. Bruce Heating & Air Conditioning Inc., 5115 W. Brinkley Road, Ste. C, Kennewick. Vicycor, 4680 Cowlitz Blvd. Doolittle Construction, 1900 118th Ave. SE, Bellevue. Bruce Mechanical Inc., 5115 W. Brinkley Road, Ste. C, Kennewick. Oscar’s Tree Service, 3805 W. Seventh Ave., Kennewick. Brandon Jay Oswalt, 2877 Riverbend Drive. Knockerball Tri-Cities LLC, 4415 Montgomery Lane, Pasco. Total Health Hygiene LLC, 661 Lynnwood Loop. Dreher Concrete Construction, 13385 Road 12.7 NW, Quincy. Ace Unlimited and Associates LLC, 925 Stevens Drive. J P 7 Ranch, 53104 N. SR 225 NW, Benton City. Tri-Cities Photo Booth, 932 N. Elm Ave., Pasco. Beauty By Natalie, 1311 Mansfield St. FJ Electric LLC, 1312 Dazet Road, Yakima. Williamson 2 Consulting LLC, 2748 Grayhawk Loop. Lakeview Installations LLC, 106 Hills West Way. Pneumatic Innovations Inc., 137 Keene Road. United Fence Co LLC, 4120 Melody Lane, Pasco. 3 Nails Construction Inc., 380 S. Outlook Road, Outlook.

Enchanted Wire Designs, 1845 Leslie Road. Tri-Cities Diversity & Inclusion Council, 723 The Parkway. Peoples Fitness Journey, 1221 Columbia Park Trail. Vera Flooring LLC, 320 N. Roosevelt St., Walla Walla. John Donovan Agency, 110 Gage Blvd. Trek Construction, 27305 N. 251 PR NW, Benton City. Monkey Bug Farms, 1522 Marshall Ave. Diego’s Glass, 8616 Packard Drive, Pasco. Shade Cafe LLP, 1299 Fowler St. Poverty Dignified Inc., 719 Jadwin Ave. Neuman Electric, 2625 N. Riverside Drive, West Richland. Precise Detailz LLC, 1008 Allenwhite Drive. Co3 Remodeling, LLC, 439 E. 15th Place, Kennewick. Jda Construction LLC, 2112 E. Butte St., Pasco. The Academy of Acrobatic Sports LLC, 1977 Fowler St. Envian Construction, 306 S. Quillan St., Kennewick. Unlimited Concrete LLC, 1827 W. Fifth

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Ave., Kennewick. Bair Curbing & Landscape LLC, 51 Richview Drive, Pasco. Sugarlash & Skin LLC, 227 Symons St. IQR Marketing, 2906 Leavenworth Lane. Twin City Masonry & Flooring LLC, 6010 Kent Lane, Pasco. Gutters & More Construction LLC, 4219 Kitimat Lane, Pasco. Amarilis Meat Market II, 1086 George Washington Way. J and W General Contracting, 1217 N. Dawes St., Kennewick. Clean Edge Pressure Washing & Window Cleaning, 11503 12th Ave. S, Tacoma. Kallee’s Confections, 1610 Venice Lane. Mattson 24 LLC, 723 The Parkway. Eden Landscaping & Tree Service LLC, 127 E. Sixth Ave., Kennewick. Alberto Gomez Insurance Agency LLC, 2123 Robertson Drive. Razors Edge Studio, 518 Blue St. Lilith’s Moon Shop, 2555 Duportail St. Oh Sushi LLC, 735 The Parkway. Little Manitas, 3003 Queensgate Drive. Jvmg&5k’s LLC, 641 Lonetree Lane.

uPUBLIC RECORD, Page B30

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TRI-CITIES AREA JOURNAL OF BUSINESS | JULY 2021

Atomic Iron Works LLC, 355 Cottonwood Drive. Tri Cities Diamond LLC, 30 Galaxy Lane. Apex Motor Sales LLC, 2657 N. Columbia Center Blvd. Devinbrowntattoos LLC, 614 The Parkway. Evergreens Microgreens, 4678 Highview St. Ann Roseberry LLC, 121 Spengler St. OCD Top Cleaning Service LLC, 1851 Jadwin Ave. Villamar Window Tinting, 2579 Stevens Drive. Booth Mobile LLC, 1307 Cedar Ave. Drexel Residence LLC, 1169 Pinto Loop. The Bunny Tuft, 325 Greentree Court. Fish Salyerz, 913 Tomich Ave. Greenlife Landscape Design, 1382 Jadwin Ave. Dynamic Entropy Technology LLC (DET), 124 Pinionwood Court. Clyde Design LLC, 136 Lesa Marie Lane, Kennewick. Palmyra California Ave LLC, 1169 Pinto Loop. Tres Rios Community Land Trust, 104 Edgewood Drive. Basin Wood Floors, 1198 W. Herman Road, Othello. Backflow Tri-Cties, 3303 Luna Drive, Pasco. (TCH) Tri-Cities Home Services LLC, 241 James St., West Richland. Diamond In The Rough, 1360 N. Louisiana St., Kennewick. Ocampo, Alexis Sonia, 227 University Drive. Soul Purpose Foundation, 608 Torbett St. The Divine Ordinary, 1331 Perkins Ave. Smart Styles, 2801 Duportail St. Essential Mobile RV Repair LLC, 321 S.

Highland Drive, Kennewick. Melinda Robinson Real Estate LLC, 490 Bradley Blvd. Alma S Day Spa, 296 Riverwood St. Park Place Apartments, 650 George Washington Way. Open Heart Anesthesia PLLC, 1084 Cayuse Drive. Carlisle Capital LLC, 2348 Harris Ave. Gifting Washington, 723 The Parkway. Deter Investments LLC, 1924 Butler Loop. Philip Snider, MBA | Realtor, 3523 Polo Greens Ave., West Richland. Lucky Food Mart, 22 Goethals Drive. Medoza, Elizabeth, 8712 Gatwick Court, Pasco. Miss Annies Quilting, 611 Blue St. Mid-Columbia Pest Control, 64308 N. River Road, Benton City. Blakely Dot Com LLC, 2292 Morris Ave. Tumbleweed Collective, 1926 Pike Ave. B Lawn Services, 832 W. Brown St., Pasco. Trim Smith Consulting, 464 Sundance Drive. Kai, 3661 E. Jump Off Road, Valley. Sign Of The Wave LLC, 1201 Cottonwood Drive. Tri-City Family Wellness, 460 N. Arthur St., Kennewick. 1636 Cherry Lane LLC, 2348 Harris Ave. Motorhead’z Auto, 216 N. Elm Ave., Pasco. Sort & Style, 2853 Mackenzie Court. Airuz Inc., 723 The Parkway. Atomic Realty LLC, 2404 Brodie Lane. Chantharath Inc., 1506 Amon Drive. Laod Jerky, 792 Meadows Drive S. Livin The Dream Stop & Shop LLC, 118 Vista Way, Kennewick. Affordable Water Solutions LLC, 313 Greentree Court. Vacation Crashpad LLC, 1980 Greenbrook Blvd.

American Ambition Inspections LLC, 2429 Mark Court. La Cantina Mobile Bar LLC, 1920 Road 33, Pasco. Cricket Wireless, 1729 George Washington Way. Sparkle Housekeeping Services, 1325 S. Date St., Kennewick. Skymaiden Soaps, 23005 S. Williams PR SE, Kennewick. G & H Cleaning Service, 2504 E. Alvina St., Pasco. The Bug Guy Pest Control LLC, 312 Cedar St., Grandview.

WEST RICHLAND Red Mountain Event Center, 329 W. Columbia Drive, Kennewick. Custom Concrete Specialists LLC, 7108 W. Yellowstone Ave., Kennewick Hearthwood Construction LLC, 2929 S. Kellogg St., Kennewick. Magnolia Flooring LLC, 90 S. Verbena St., Kennewick. Bricker Construction LLC, 5408 Fern Loop. First Choice Communications LLC, 522 Riverside Ave., Spokane. Quality Auto Detail LLC, PO Box 861 Pasco. Dm Targets, 426 Grosscup Blvd. Lennie L Streeter, 6306 Kilawea Drive. All Climate Services LLC, 3511 W. Clearwater Ave., Kennewick. Bayou Some Cajun, 98109 E. Brandon Drive, Kennewick. Emmanuel Siding Construction LLC, 4815 W. Clearwater Ave., Kennewick. JD’s Trucking, PO Box 5638. Edgewater Pools LLC, 5716 Ochoco Lane, Pasco. JMS Construction Inc., PO Box 7251 Kennewick. Kilgore Architectural Products Inc., PO

Box 14685, Spokane Valley. Rocio House Cleaning, 6108 Pimlico Drive, Pasco. Margyl Drywall LLC, 4004 W. Dusty Lane, Benton City. Palouse Power LLC, PO Box 356 Quincy. J&V Quality Painting LLC, 1412 N. 15th Ave., Pasco. SB Professional Flooring LLC, 2105 N. Steptoe St., Kennewick. Lawn and Order Landscaping, 601 New Gate Drive, Prosser. Artesanos Iron Works, 308 Ninth St., Benton City. Aguilar Quality Drywall LLC, 6504 W. Umatilla Ave., Kennewick. M and G Functional Fitness, 5515 Coolidge Ct., Pasco. Allegiant RV and Trailer, 20407 S. 2060 PR SE, Kennewick. Refrigeration Plus Services, 3315 S. Quincy Place, Kennewick. GIS Construction LLC, 1813 Nova Lane, Richland. CM Bradley, 205 N. Glacier St., Moxee. Pioneer Heating and Air LLC, 9916 Nottingham Drive, Pasco. S&C Plastering LLC, 214 Sun Willows Blvd., Pasco.

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.

Nicholas Steven Fetter, unpaid Department of Labor and Industries taxes, filed June 9.

uPUBLIC RECORD, Page B31

TRI-CITIES AREA JOURNAL OF BUSINESS | JULY 2021 Eastern Washington Construction, unpaid Department of Labor and Industries taxes, filed June 10. Morales Nelson Martinez, unpaid Department of Labor and Industries taxes, filed June 10. 3 Rivers Heating & Air LLC, unpaid Department of Labor and Industries taxes, filed June 10. Norma Diaz, unpaid Department of Labor and Industries taxes, filed June 10. Prestige Painting, unpaid Department of Labor and Industries taxes, filed June 10. Enemesio Miguel Leal, unpaid Department of Labor and Industries taxes, filed June 14. Maria D. Palacios et al, unpaid Department of Labor and Industries taxes, filed June 14. Rivera Investments LLC, unpaid Department of Labor and Industries taxes, filed June 14. Northwest Commercial Clean, unpaid Department of Labor and Industries taxes, filed June 15. Hugo Garcia et al, unpaid Department of Labor and Industries taxes, filed June 23. Ivan’s Construction LLC, unpaid Department of Labor and Industries taxes, filed June 23. Yuliana Esquivel, unpaid Department of Licensing taxes, filed June 30.

uLIQUOR LICENSES BENTON COUNTY NEW APPLICATIONS Big Smoke, 4434 W. Clearwater Ave., Suite A, Kennewick. License type: beer/ wine specialty shop. Application type: assumption. Ackley Brands Ltd., 63615 E. Jacobs Road NE, Unit A, Benton City. License type: domestic winery <250,000 liters. Application type: new. Wit Cellars, 5050 Cabernet Court, Suite A, Prosser. License type: domestic winery <250,000 liters, additional location, beer/ wine on premises. Application type: new. Bookwalter Winery LLC, 1695 Malibu PR, Richland. License type: domestic winery <250,000 liters, beer/wine on prem-

ises. Application type: new. Sage Brewing Company, 910 S. Columbia Center Blvd., Kennewick. License type: tavern-beer/wine; off premises. Application type: new. Iconic Brewing, 2470 Henderson Loop, Richland. License type: microbrewery; beer/wine on premises endorsement. Application type: new. La Placita Mexican Restaurant, 5011 W. Clearwater Ave., Suite C, Kennewick. License type: spirits/beer/wine restaurant lounge+; catering. Application type: added/change of class/in lieu. Gamache Vintners, 505 Cabernet Court, Prosser. License type: domestic winery <250,000 liters. Application type: change of location.

APPROVED Ice Harbor Brewing Company, 206 N. Benton Ave., Kennewick. License type: microbrewery. Application type: added/ change of class/in lieu. Rattlesnake Mountain Brewing Company, 2696 N. Columbia Center Blvd., Richland. License type: microbrewery. Application type: added/change of trade name. Graze, 610 George Washington Way, Richland. License type: beer/wine restaurant – beer/wine. Application type: change of location. Sun Market #42, 1025 E. Jacobs Road NE, Benton City. License type: grocery store – beer/wine. Application type: new.

DISCONTINUED Walter Clore Wine & Culinary Center, 2140 Wine Country Road, Suite A, Prosser. License type: direct shipment receiver-in/out WA. Application type: new.

FRANKLIN COUNTY NEW APPLICATIONS El Cora Bar and Grill, 710 Columbia Ave., Connell. License type: direct shipment receiver-in WA only; spirits/beer/ wine restaurant, lounge+; catering. Application type: new. Club 69, 218 S. Fourth Ave., Pasco. License type: direct shipment receiver-in

WA only; nightclub. Application type: new. Carniceria La Catrina, 2115 E. Lewis St., Pasco. License type: grocery store – beer/ wine. Application type: assumption.

APPROVED Courtyard by Marriott Pasco, 2101 W. Argent Road, Pasco. License type: direct shipment receiver-in WA only. Application type: assumption. El Antojito Mexicano Restaurant, 1915 W. Court St., Pasco. License type: beer/ wine restaurant – beer. Application type: assumption.

uBUSINESS UPDATES MOVED Polestar Technical Services Inc. has moved to 2920 George Washington

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Way, Suite 104, Richland.

CLOSED Monarcha Ice Cream closed its storefront inside Kennewick’s Columbia Center mall in May. Gamache Vintners closed its winery/ tasting room at 505 Cabernet Court in Prosser on June 1.

NAME CHANGE The Kabob House is now Zullee Mediterranean Grill. It has restaurants at 5802 N. Road 68, Suite 104 in Pasco, and 2762 Duportail St. in Richland. Kimo’s Sportsbar & Brew Pub at 2696 N. Columbia Center Blvd. in Richland is now Rattlesnake Mountain Brewing Company.

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TRI-CITIES AREA JOURNAL OF BUSINESS | JULY 2021