Following the paid suspension of Executive Director Diahann Howard, the Port of Benton approved a contract presumably to investigate her actions and appointed an interim executive director at its Jan. 14 meeting.

Before unanimously voting to approve the contract for “human resources services support,” commissioners voted to exempt the contract from a competitive solicitation process “due to the urgency of this need for the contract,” Commissioner Lori Stevens said. The action came after commissioners met during a two-hour closed-door session.

The 60-day HR contract is not to exceed $50,000. The port didn’t provide any additional details about the contract or what it was for during the meeting. 

The move comes after the port’s Jan. 7 decision to place Howard on paid administrative leave pending an internal review. Commissioners didn’t explain why Howard, who has served as executive director since 2019, was placed on leave, calling it a confidential personnel matter.

About 30 people attended the Jan. 14 meeting, some in person and others online.

Several in attendance expressed support for Howard during the public comment portion of the meeting, and others called for more transparency from commissioners in the wake of Howard’s suspension and the Jan. 7 closed-door discussion of an investigative report.

Port of Benton office at 3250 Port of Benton Blvd., Richland.

| Photo by Rachel Visick

The report investigates complaints made by former commissioner Roy Keck and Howard against Commissioner Scott Keller related to illegal water hookups and lease issues at the Richland Airport among other issues.

Commission President Bill O’Neil and Stevens voted to release the full report, pending redactions made for privacy concerns.

Keller was the port’s executive director for 17 years before retiring in 2019 and spent a total of 30 years with the port beginning as the airport director. He has been a commissioner for the past two years. 

The port’s next meeting is at 8:30 a.m. Jan. 28.