By ELENA OLMSTEAD

ConAgra Lamb Weston recently announced the planned closure of its potato processing plant in Prosser. For years the plant has been a hub activity in the small town, providing jobs and revenue for the close-knit community. 

On March 24, the 250 people who work at the plant were told it would be shuttering its doors at the end of May.

ConAgra officials said in a statement, the decision to close the Prosser plant reflects both the economy and a soft market for frozen potato products. The statement also points to the Prosser plant being the most expensive to operate in the region.

The Prosser plant is one of the city’s largest private employers. While the jobs will be leaving Prosser, company officials said jobs may be available for the displaced workers at other ConAgra operations in the Mid-Columbia.

But for Prosser, the closure has hit close to home. It’s brought the country’s recent economic problems to the city’s doorstep.

“We’re not bulletproof,” said Jim Milne, executive director of the Prosser Chamber of Commerce. “We’re just like every other community. It’s tough.”

The city is losing 250 jobs and, according to city officials, more than $400,000 in revenue.

Charlie Bush, Prosser city administrator, said revenue from the plant accounts for 12 percent of the city’s water revenue and two percent of its general fund. Bush estimates this year, the city will lose $203,000 with the plant closure and in 2011 that will jump to $407,000. 

Bush said, after meeting with the Prosser City Council, the city has managed to rebalance its budget accounting for the revenue loss without any major cuts — no layoffs or cuts in services.

He said the city took a hard look at its capital projects and improvements schedule to see what could be done to save money. He said there were several projects the city is currently in the middle of, including a project to replace all of the city’s water meters, which were running ahead of schedule and below budget. 

He said the city also looked at some of the temporary budget cuts they had made in preparation of their original 2010 budget. These cuts, he said, will become permanent, including not filling an open police officer position.

Bush said he was surprised to hear about the closure of the plant. He said city officials were called into the potato plant’s office on March 24 for a meeting with company officials when they were told the plant would be closing.

“It was a surprise to us,” Bush said. “We had no idea it was coming.”

He said a few hours after that meeting, the company sent out a press release officially announcing the plant’s closure.

But the plant’s closure means more than lost revenue. The loss of jobs will mean people in the community aren’t going to have money to spend shopping in local stores, there will be fewer people going to lunch and coming into town.

Milne said he’s already seen the community pull together to help the displaced workers.

Milne said the Prosser Economic Development Association quickly organized a resource fair for the plant’s workers, which was held within weeks of the announcement. 

Milne said the idea of the fair was to help connect the displaced workers with some of the resources that are out there for them to take advantage of.

In the end, Milne said while the financial loss to Prosser is huge, he’s most concerned about the workers themselves. 

“I’m praying and hoping that they’ll be able to find jobs,” Milne said.

The plant is scheduled to close its doors on May 30.