Port of Benton Official Advised to Install Legal Water Meter at Privately Owned Hangar

A key official at the Port of Benton has been advised to install a legal water meter at his privately owned airplane hangar amid an investigation into illegal hookups at the Richland Airport.

Scott Keller, the port’s retired executive director and current president of its elected board of commissioners, has owned a hangar at the port-owned airport since 2017.

Diahann Howard, who became executive director after Keller’s 2019 retirement, confirmed that his hangar is connected to a port meter instead of having its own connection to city water, as required by Richland.

During a private meeting on May 15, staff asked Keller to work with the city to install a meter connection to his hangar at 2049 Butler Loop.

The city requires independent, permitted connections. Hollie Alexander, the city’s spokeswoman, confirmed it would be a criminal offense to connect without authorization. Bypassing a water meter is considered theft.

Keller declined to answer follow up questions on the issue, but released a statement to the Tri-City Herald.

“As President of the Commission, I will be calling for a public workshop to review 30 years of Richland Airport utility history. We will be inviting all parties that were a part of prior agreements and have knowledge of hangar construction where water and sewer were connected. This should answer all or most of your questions,” he said. Workshop discussion set

The commission will discuss the matter, including a possible workshop, at its June 18 meeting.

The port learned in April that three or more hangars at the airport were illegally connected to city water systems during a city inspection and testing of airport fire hydrants.

It advised the port of its finding. The port is taking the lead on the investigation since it owns and operates the municipal airport off the Highway 240 bypass.

It hired Geophysical Survey of Kennewick to use ground penetrating radar to create a map of utilities to aid in identifying additional connections, if any, among the airport’s 89 tenants.

The $8,500 cost is coming from its general budget.

“The port and city are still actively investigating this situation,” Howard said.

Howard said the Federal Aviation Administration, which funds the airport, has been advised of the situation and will be updated as the investigation continues.

Howard disclosed the discovery of illegal connections on May 22, during the port commission’s regular business meeting. Port staff previously shared the information in private one-on-one sessions with each of the three commissioners. Water meter connections

During the public meeting, Keller disclosed that he was aware his hangar did not have a meter at the time he bought it.

He said port staff worked with city officials on a plan to get meters, but nothing appeared to happen. He said he has emails to back it up.

Keller left the port in 2019, but returned a few years later when he ran for and won a seat on the elected board in 2023.

Howard confirmed that there were discussions at the time, but said the port has not found email records.

The city denied knowing about any irregular water connections, said a statement issued by its spokeswoman.

“(W)e could not locate records that the city was notified or was made aware of the unmetered service connections to the hangars at the Richland Airport prior to last month,” Alexander said in response to Herald questions. Hangars are private

Neither the city nor the port have publicly disclosed the addresses or owners of additional properties with illegal connections. All hangars at the airport are privately owned, but the land under them is leased from the port.

Howard confirmed that Keller did not install the meter on his private hangar and that it is connected to the city water system through a port meter.

Keller purchased his 2000-built hangar in 2017 through a limited liability company, The Axe LLC, port and property records confirm.

He discussed the plan with the port commission — his bosses at the time — at a June 7, 2017 meeting, according to the official minutes from the session.

The record indicates he bought a 2,500-square-foot hangar sitting on an 0.25-acre site from the original builder, who has since died.

The commission voted unanimously to grant Keller a standard a 10-year lease with four 10-year renewals at a rate of $1,128 per year, including leasehold taxes.

Normally, Keller would sign the lease as the port’s representative.

Benton County records indicate the port’s then-director of finance and audit signed as the port’s representative in his place. Keller’s signature appears as the tenant. Hanger inspections

As the port seeks to discover additional connections, it is advising port tenants to contact the city about installing meters.

Roy Keck, a longtime port commissioner as well as airport tenant, has called for a “doors up” inspection of all hangars involving fire, assessor and other regulators.

He said he would include his own business property in the inspection.

Lori Stevens, the port’s third commissioner, said it appears the situation predates her time on the commission. She referred all questions to Howard.

“I too am working to better understand how it came about,” she said.

The Port of Benton commission’s next regular business meeting is at 8:30 a.m., June 18, at the port offices, 3250 Port of Benton Boulevard.

Go to portofbenton.com

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