Saturday, Sep. 20, 2008

Benton County assessors move into new digs

By Franny White, Herald staff writer

KENNEWICK -- With a hodgepodge of dated office furniture and used room dividers, the new Kennewick location for the Benton County Assessor's Office isn't fancy.

But Assessor Barbara Wagner loves it.

"I'm very happy and pleased to let the public know we now have a functional office to serve them," Wagner said Friday.

The assessor's new digs are on the first floor of the Benton County Justice Center, 7122 W. Okanogan Place.

Visitors can find the office by taking an immediate right after passing through the center's main entrance. The area used to be home to the Beat Cafe, which closed in March.

Workers took about two weeks to remove the cafeteria equipment and provide access to the county's computer server. County commissioners approved $25,300 for the move Sept. 2.

The new office will open Monday, five days before Wagner's staff will mail about 25,000 property valuations. That means Tri-City residents with valuation questions won't have to travel to Prosser, where the county's only other assessor's office is at the courthouse.

Benton County has been down to just one assessor's office since late May, when Wagner closed her previous office at the Benton County Annex at 5600 W. Canal Drive. She said mold and poor air quality in the Annex building made her and her employees sick. She'd temporarily closed the same office in January for the same reason.

While two separate investigations didn't find indoor air quality violations at the Annex, the studies did recommend improvements to the building's ventilation system. The Annex's other offices -- including the county building department, auditor and Washington State University Extension -- remained opened.

Commissioner Claude Oliver said indoor temperature complaints have been the only concerns that employees working at the Justice Center have raised since its expansion opened in 2004.

New Kennewick Assessor's Office

Location: First floor, Benton County Justice Center, Kennewick

Hours: 8 a.m.-5 p.m., Monday-Friday

Phone: 735-2394