Buckley votes to sell its natural gas system

Published 9:39 am Wednesday, November 6, 2013

Buckley voters overwhelmingly chose to sell off their natural gas system during Tuesday’s election.

The small town had been one of just three jurisdictions in the state to maintain its own gas system, along with neighboring Enumclaw and the Kittitas County community of Ellensburg.

The city had spearheaded the effort, as the council had earlier voted for the sale and accepted a bid from Puget Sound Energy. Making it official took a vote of the public.

Tuesday night’s numbers showed 491 votes in support of the sale and just 85 in opposition.

The big issue was money. Voters were told PSE could operate the system and charge less to both private residents and commercial accounts.