January 2010
Building upgrades provide efficiency and accommodates an increasing workforce
By Alan Van Ormer
East River Electric Power Cooperative continues to upgrade its buildings to accommodate an increasing workforce and provide more efficient service to its members.
Construction is expected to start in February on a two-story addition on the south side of the headquarters building on southeast First Street in Madison. The 16,800 square foot project is expected to be completed later this year. In addition, the current headquarters will be renovated in 2011.
Jim Edwards, Assistant General Manager of Operations said East River is content on maintaining its downtown location. “We need additional office space and a training facility to accommodate our employee safety meetings,” he said. “It will improve the layout and the functionality of the building.”
The multi-purpose training room is expected to accommodate up to 150 people. In addition, the facility will be more energy efficient and will be LEED certified.
Scott Parsley, Assistant General Manager of Member Services, said East River is a vital part of the community. “We consider ourselves a valuable component to the Madison area, not only in the number of people we employ, but also by the investments we make in our local businesses.” In 1998, East River had 92 employees. Today, that number is 117.
The current building replacement and life extension project planning began in 2007. In 2008, a new Madison Service Center was constructed on Highway 34, on the west side of the city, to provide more adequate space for equipment and personnel. This also improved safety by eliminating large trucks from entering and exiting the downtown area.
The construction of the new Service Center opened the downtown facility across from the Headquarters offices and allowed East River to move its Telecommunications and Meter Relay Department to that spot. Also, the Engineering Services Department continued to expand to meet member needs, making it necessary to find a more feasible location for the employees. Those employees will be housed in the Headquarters building expansion.
The Information Technology Department is also providing more services to members in the East River service area, prompting officials to move them to the current Member Services facility once the new construction is completed. The Member Services employees will then move to the renovated section of the headquarters building once everything is complete.
East River Electric Power Cooperative is a wholesale electric power supply cooperative serving 24 rural electric cooperatives and one municipally-owned electric system, which in turn serve more than 92,000 homes and businesses and about 250,000 consumers. The company’s 40,000 square mile service area covers the rural areas of 41 counties in eastern South Dakota and 22 counties in western Minnesota.