Do you need office and warehouse facilities? Facilities planning for a growing cooperative.

• Author: Cowan, Roy
• Position: Rural electric cooperative

Many rural electric directors and managers are faced with the need to examine the adequacy, or lack thereof, of current headquarters facilities and make the necessary decisions when current facilities are inadequate or hinder the cooperative's ability to meet the increasing needs of their consumers. Through case study analysis, our authors discuss the action steps which may be followed in this decision-making process.

The impact of metropolitan growth throughout the United States has established a cascade of growth for the electric cooperatives which serve this expansion. For many of these same cooperatives this growth is exacerbated by trying to meet all the needs with fractured operations, inadequate consumer access, cramped and crowded work conditions and, in one case, the roof caving in!

This has caused more and more co-op managers to take a fresh look at the adequacy of current services, facilities and the cooperative's ability to meet the ever-increasing needs of today's electric consumer. For many managers this assessment has been long overdue.

Feeling the squeeze

Consider the case of Pioneer Electric Cooperative of Ulysses, Kansas. Located in the heart of the Hugoton Gas Field and surrounded by acres of land ripe for increased rural development, Pioneer Electric found itself serving one of the fastest growing areas in Kansas. In 1991, kilowatt hour sales increased by 2.23%; however, by 1994, the percentage of increased sales grew to a whopping 14%. Pioneer currently serves 12,000 customers with 40 employees and more growth is in sight. This growth presented a dilemma. The present office, garage and warehouse facilities were fully utilized and there was no space for adding staff or placing the needed computer equipment for operations.

General Manager Dave Jesse explained, "When I started as manager of Pioneer on January 1, 1991, I never dreamed that the 20-year-old building that housed our headquarters wouldn't be adequate. The strategic planning process we embarked on at the end of 1991 pointed out the need for more space to give our cooperative the ability to grow and meet the changing needs in our service area. That's like a `good news, bad news' story to a new manager."

According to Assistant General Manager Scott Handy, this was the same story for Cass County Electric Cooperative, located just outside Fargo, North Dakota. For the past several years the co-op has been experiencing a rapid growth in sales, customers and employees. As far back as 1987, management began discussing how they could meet the long-term needs of their new members but nothing was resolved. As a short-term measure, they rented space in a commercial office building and added on to current facilities to try to accommodate the growth but finally a decision had to be made to move ahead with the construction of new facilities.

Coosa Valley Electric Cooperative in Talladega, Alabama faced a slightly different challenge. General Manager Joe Cade explained that the current administrative offices were purchased in 1969 when the co-op was serving 4,748 consumers with 21 employees. The outside crews worked out of a separate location on the other side of town. Parking was very limited, making access to the office difficult for both employees and consumers alike. Prior to being purchased by the cooperative, the current location was a remodeled feed and fertilizer building. Today the cooperative has 51 employees and just over...