Key Technology tops projects for Port of WW
Commissioners earmarked $2.6 million for an expansion that will bring operations under one roof.

A building expansion to aid one of Walla Walla's major employers and a water system for Burbank top the Port of Walla Walla's major project list for the coming year.

The capital projects were among priorities set by Port commissioners during their annual budget retreat on Nov.

19. The Port's budget is expected to be approved in December.

At the budget retreat, Port commissioners agreed to earmark about $2.6 million to add a 20,000-square-foot expansion to the Key Technology plant at the Avery Industrial Park, said Jim Kuntz, Port executive director.

The expansion is intended to allow Key Technology, a designer and manufacturer of process automation systems for the food processing and industrial markets, to bring its Walla Walla operations under one roof. The company currently operates out of the Avery site and at a building on Melrose Street.

The project received a boost last week when the state Community Economic Revitalization Board approved a $250,000 grant and a $750,000 loan to help fund the cost of the expansion.

According to Port figures, Key Technology is the 11th largest employer in Walla Walla County with an estimated payroll of between $12 million and $15 million annually. The expansion project was announced in late September after the company approached the Port, which is the landlord for both buildings used by the company, for help in consolidating its facilities.

The second-largest project on the Port's 2005 agenda is development of a water system for its Burbank Industrial Site.

That project also received a major boost recently from a $750,000 grant included in the 2005 federal budget.

The Port is in the process of drilling a well near the Snake River and the grant money will be used to build a pumping and distribution system for the water it produces, Kuntz said.

As part of the project, Port commissioner's also approved plans to spend $45,000 for obtain transfer of water rights and $40,000 to draw up a water system plan.

If the new well proves to be a source of clean, potable water, it promises not only to help development of the industrial park, but also relieve problems local water districts now have with their water systems, Kuntz said.

The three water systems in the Burbank area, which serve 387 connections, have problems with high nitrate and flouride levels, Kuntz said. If the Port's well is successful, water from it could be sold to those districts.

Other major projects on the Port commission's list for 2005 include $550,000 for improvements to help a beverage distributing company move into a Port-owned building on Isaacs Avenue and $135,000 to acquire property alongside the site.

A final project on the Port's list is $100,000 for a ``Burbank Gateway Road Project,'' Kuntz said.

The project is intended to help build frontage roads into the Burbank Industrial Site in conjuction with the ongoing project to widen U.S. Highway 12 to four lanes between the Snake River and the Wallula area.

On the airport side, major expenditures projected for 2005 include about $1.8 million to acquire property at the north end of the airport's main runway to provide a clear zone and $305,962 for a new snowplow.

Other projects are $80,000 for purchase of an emergency generator for the runway lighting system and $20,000 for installation of wind socks and a new rotating beacon.

The bulk of the cost of the airport projects, 95 percent, will come from Federal Aviation Administration funds for airport improvement projects, Kuntz said.