News
4/30/2010
Site Selected For New OTEC La Grande Facility
La Grande, OR – April 30, 2010 – Oregon Trail Electric Cooperative’s (OTEC) Board of Directors has approved the site of OTEC’s new planned facility in La Grande.
After a yearlong process of evaluating multiple sites in the area, the Board has selected the current OTEC Cove Avenue location as the site for expansion.
“During our investigation process we evaluated the economics, location, and overall needs of a new facility,” says Werner Buehler, OTEC General Manager. “We evaluated multiple sites in the La Grande area and have determined that our current Cove Avenue facility location is the best property to expand on.”
It was in May 2009 that OTEC originally announced that it would investigate the possibilities of constructing a new single modern facility in the La Grande area. Currently, OTEC owns two aging facilities in La Grande. Both facilities would have required significant expenditures to bring them up to current industry standards.
“We are excited about this announcement and look forward to breaking ground in the near future,” suggests Buehler. “OTEC continues to be optimistic about the future of Eastern Oregon, and this project demonstrates our commitment to the area and to our members.”
“The project will put local people to work and will put money back into the community,” says Dave Baum, President of the OTEC Board. “This is truly local economic development by a local company.”
The construction of a new facility is not expected to have an appreciable impact on utility rates.
Other Properties Considered:
The property originally considered is located next to the Ladd Canyon Sub-station between Gekeler Lane and Highway 30. This is property is already owned by OTEC, and with building costs being low, it seemed like the right choice at first. “We were unfortunately forced to abandon this option as a result of the Oregon Department of Transportation Department’s (ODOT) unwillingness to work with us on access issues,” explains Michael Howe, Communications and Government Relations Specialist. ODOT would not allow OTEC access to the property from Highway 30.
ODOT also impacted the decision related to property in Island City. “This was also an access issue ODOT was unwilling to work with us on,” says. Howe.
OTEC was also excited about the possibility of locating in the La Grande Business and Technology Park. “We saw this as a great opportunity to demonstrate our commitment to economic development in the area, but due to the complexities of relationships between city, county, and other stakeholders it became apparent that this was not a workable situation,” suggests Howe.
Watch the OTEC web site for future updates.
