CARLSBORG — Curious about the new Clallam County Public Utility District’s new administrative office?
Following a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 10 a.m. Saturday, the public is invited to participate in self-guided tours of the $8 million, 29,496-square-feet facility, including areas generally inaccessible to customers, Mike Howe, PUD communications and government relations manager, said Thursday morning during a tour of the facility.
The building is located at 104 Hooker Road in Carlsborg.
The free event, which lasts until 2 p.m., will include complimentary cupcakes from That Takes the Cake of Sequim, raffle prizes and a visit by Santa Claus, who will be available for photos for visitors with cameras between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m.
“We have Santa coming . . . straight from the North Pole,” Howe said.
“People have to bring their own cameras, but they don’t have to pay anything.”
Howe encourages members of the public to attend the ceremony and take a self-guided tour “because it is their building,” he said.
“It is a public building. They should come check it out and see it was built with efficiency in mind.
“We just wanted a nice quality, sturdy building that would last for a long time, and look good for the community.”
Heads on hand
Department heads will be on hand to answer questions about the work their employees do and how it affects the overall operation, with informational placards set up throughout the building, Howe said.
“They are going to have a little display so . . . you can learn a little bit about the department and what they do,” he said.
The new building boasts several conference rooms — two of which, just off the main lobby, are available to the public for use upon request — a payment center, two kitchen/dining areas for employees and plenty of office space.
Bills delivered to the 30,000 or so PUD customers in the area are printed and packaged on site by a machine in the rear of the building, Howe said.
The new facility, part of a $12 million comprehensive facilities program announced in March 2014, replaces the former PUD headquarters building at 2431 E. U.S. Highway 101, about 2.5 miles east of downtown Port Angeles.
That building was constructed in 1966.
That office is now closed to customers and will be sold, Howe said.
The Carlsborg headquarters building is about double the size of the old headquarters in Port Angeles and is designed to be in service for the next 50 years, Howe said.
Additionally, “we have consolidated a number of offices into this one building,” he said.
“The idea is to create one stop shopping and some internal efficiencies as well as accommodate future growth.”
The more than 70 employees who work in the new building began the process of moving in Nov. 23 and “are excited and have adjusted quite well,” Howe said.
The building opened for business Nov. 24, he said.
The move consolidates the former offices in Port Angeles and at 502 S. Still Road in Sequim.
The Sequim office was rented space.
Payment centers
The PUD also has opened payment centers in Port Angeles and Sequim.
The Sequim center is inside the Co-op at 216 E. Washington St. The Port Angeles center is inside Country Aire Natural Foods at 200 W. First St.
They are open from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and from 1:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. daily.
Construction crews working under the supervision of the contractor, Neeley Construction & Cabinet Co. of Puyallup, broke ground on the new building in October 2014.
The new offices were designed by Lawhead Architects P.S. of Bellevue and incorporate 1,000 cubic yards of concrete, 175 tons of structural steel and 47 tons of rebar.
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Sequim-Dungeness Valley Editor Chris McDaniel can be reached at 360-681-2390, ext. 5052, or cmcdaniel@peninsuladailynews.com.
