Tuesday, February 17, 2015 the KID Board of Directors approved the sale of the downtown KID administrative building located in Kennewick, to Meier Architecture • Engineering (Meier), a local architecture and engineering firm currently located in Kennewick, Washington. KID is excited about the sale to Meier, a local business who will bring more than 50 professional employees to downtown. KID believes Meier will be an asset to the revitalization efforts being made by the City of Kennewick in downtown and that a professional presence will help support the downtown economy and fill the hole that would have otherwise been created with KID’s departure.
The decision to sell and build a new office was a tough one for KID, but the sale approval brings KID one step closer to efforts to consolidate operations and administrative staff. The Administrative Office has been located in downtown Kennewick for decades, but the location’s separation from half of the district’s employees and its inability to house all 57 employees due to size constraints, presented challenges. KID believes that creating a unified space to house all 57 employees at the KID-owned Ely Street property just makes better sense and will be the most effective use of our operating budget in the long term.
KID sees this move as an opportunity to continue to make organization and operational improvements. Consolidating locations will directly increase internal communication and facilitate providing more timely information to customers. It will also improve management accessibility and oversight, improve staff development, and increase daily operational efficiency.
KID’s customer base continues to grow and change and the needs of KID customers and District staff along with it. KID believes that consolidating the business on our current operating site on Ely Street, within KID boundaries and in the heart of the customer base, is the best way to utilize our resources to improve our service delivery and improve organizational efficiencies.