KID manager says his firing was retaliation

KENNEWICK -- A former Kennewick Irrigation District manager who was fired in late 2007 has filed a lawsuit against the district in Benton County Superior Court alleging he was the victim of retaliation.

Brad Wellenbrock of Kennewick claims he was terminated from his $81,000 a year job as engineering manager because the KID board opposed his looking into complaints about board member Loren Watts, who allegedly helped himself to KID water for his construction company's water trucks.

Watts Construction allegedly "improperly placed a water pump" into a KID pond and tapped into the KID water supply for Hansen Park during the summer of 2007, causing low water pressure for residents in the subdivision.

The lawsuit states: "Wellenbrock reported the Hansen Park complaints to (secretary-manager Victor) Johnson," and later learned that it "angered Watts."

Watts had done underground utilities work for Hansen Park, which was developed by Ryan Pratt, then president of the KID board.

Wellenbrock's lawsuit also says Watts' company "deliberately damaged" a KID system water turnout in March 2007 to install piping for property owned by Antoinette Burnside of Kennewick. It says the resulting damage made it impossible for KID to measure the amount of water used by Burnside.

Chuck Freeman, KID secretary-manager, said he had no comment on the pending litigation.

"We've been served. It's been referred to our insurance company," Freeman said.

KID is the only defendant in the lawsuit. Watts Construction Co. is not a party to the lawsuit. An office manager at the company said Friday that Watts was out of town and unavailable for comment.

The lawsuit focuses on actions taken by then-board members Watts, Pratt and Bill Kinsel, and by Doug Grover, a longtime KID board member who became district secretary-manager in late 2007.

The lawsuit alleges Kinsel intervened on the Burnside project, and "independently determined how the delivery to the Burnside property" would occur so that Wellenbrock wouldn't be involved in overseeing the work being done by Watts Construction.

In his lawsuit, Wellenbrock alleges Watts Construction not only wanted to use a substandard grade of pipe but also failed to connect electrical wiring to the metering system that was required at the Burnside connection. That made it impossible to determine how much water was being used at that location.

According to the lawsuit, Grover resigned from the board and was hired to replace Johnson as secretary-manager Nov. 1, 2007. The next day, Grover allegedly told Wellenbrock the board "mandated the termination" as a condition for Grover's appointment.

The lawsuit says that on Nov. 5 Wellenbrock challenged the board's hiring of Grover, claiming it had violated the state's Open Public Meetings Act. He also said his termination was retaliatory and violated the state Whistleblower Act.

The board members rehired Grover at a subsequent public meeting, and Wellenbrock was officially terminated Feb. 29, 2008.

The lawsuit says KID did not reorganize the engineering department as alleged at the time Wellenbrock was fired, and says he was terminated "for reporting to his superiors and for opposing improper activities by Watts and other board members."

-- John Trumbo: 582-1529; jtrumbo@tricityherald.com