Kennewick Real Estate Blog

At the rate we’re going this month, Kennewick will break its one-month record total for most snowfall in December. That’s what the Herald is reporting today.

The record for December is 16.3 inches of snow, which happened back in 1955. For some reason, the National Weather Service doesn’t know how much snow Kennewick’s had so far this month. (Ummm, isn’t that what the NWS is supposed to track?) But I’m betting there’s been a foot of snow already, and there’s more on the way later this week.

That’s not really a record I’m interested in breaking, truth be told.

Looks like the Kennewick Best Buy store is ready for Black Friday, and anticipating a big lineup of people on Thanksgiving night. I was doing some shopping there this afternoon and couldn’t resist taking a shot of the two port-a-potties in front of the store’s main entrance.

(By the way … Best Buy was packed this afternoon with shoppers, as were the two other stores I went to. What economic slowdown??!!)

The Kennewick city council passed its 2009-10 budget last week, but not without outgoing mayor Jim Beaver making a statement on his way out by voting against the budget and a 1% tax hike.

According to the Herald, the budget includes:

• a 1% city property tax increase, which will amount to about $342 for a home valued at $150,000
• a 6.5% increase on water/sewage charges
• a new stormwater management charge of about $1.40 per month for every homeowner
• leaving seven open city management jobs unfilled

Beaver voted against all of the measures included in the new city budget. It’s his last city budget vote — he’s about to join the Benton County Commissioners next month.

This kind of thing doesn’t happen every day: The Benton PUD says it’s returning money to customers thanks to a settlement over electric rates with the Bonneville Power Administration.

Customers should see a small drop in monthly bills beginning this month, and the PUD says the average customer’s electricity bill will go down by about $6-$8.

The credit will continue through May.

I spent all day Friday at a small business marketing seminar at the Tri-Cities Convention Center. At some point during the day, my good friend David Mihm, who had driven in from Portland for the event, said something along the lines of, “This is a really nice convention center.”

And he’s absolutely right. I’m a little embarrassed to admit that Friday was my first time inside the convention center, even though it’s been open since 2004. As you can see from the photo above, the exterior is very striking; inside the facility is equally impressive. It’s clean and spacious — a comfortable location for the seminar we attended with close to 100 people.

The Three Rivers Convention Center (its formal name) made $680,000 last year, which is good in and of itself. But there’s also the additional economic impact of the events it hosts. Just from the seminar I attended, consider this:

• At least five speakers who came in from Seattle, Reno, Ohio, and Alabama, needed hotel rooms and ate in local restaurants (PF Chang’s, Tagaris Winery, IHOP).
• My friend David (above) needed a hotel room, and ate meals at 3 Margaritas, Olive Garden, and the Cafe at Queensgate.
• Cari and one of our friends from Ohio are out visiting 3-5 local wineries as I write this.
• Two of the speakers mentioned above are at Carmike Cinemas to see a movie.
• We’ll all be going out (or ordering in) for dinner tonight.
• There’ll be meals all day tomorrow and a trip to the Tri-City Americans game tomorrow night.

That’s a lot of “bonus” economic impact from a one-day marketing seminar at the Tri-Cities Convention Center.