Central Electric eyes plan for new building

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Indications are strong that the board of directors for the Central Electric Cooperative will soon give the go-ahead for a new, 40,000-square-foot service center southwest of Mitchell on Betts Road.

General Manager Loren Noess said the co-op has outgrown its North Main Street facility in Mitchell. Those buildings were erected in 1953 and remodeled in 1962. There is insufficient storage for both trucks and equipment, he said, and the new center will put administrative and service personnel under one roof.

If the plan receives final board approval Oct. 15, construction will begin in 2011 and be completed in 2012.

“We haven’t been able to have pole storage at our downtown office for 15 years,” he said. Poles have been stored at an East River Electric yard in Mitchell. East River Electric, a wholesale power supplier based in Madison, will also move its Mitchell operations to the new center and rent space.

“We’ve wanted to go on the west side of town, off the interstate, because we have large trucks moving in and out,” Noess said. Truck access to the cooperative’s Main Street facility in Mitchell is often hampered by traffic, he said.

While details must be ironed out, the project is close to a go. “We’re quite sure it’s going to happen,” Noess said.

Land purchase agreements must first be completed before building plans can be approved, he said. The co-op currently has an option to purchase a 32-acre site located just south of the Famil-E-Fun Campground.

Noess said his cooperative is considering a Puetz Corporation plan for the new structure, but an agreement with Puetz has not been finalized and an estimated cost for the project is not available at this time. Noess said a preliminary plan for a new center will be presented Oct. 5 to the Davison County Planning and Zoning Commission.

The new center will allow the cooperative to consolidate several warehouse and operational facilities and allow for future growth, Noess said.

The cooperative will continue to maintain personnel in Plankinton, Kimball, Wessington Springs and Howard.

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