BY ROBERT L. BAKER

Ground was broken Monday morning for a proposed 32,000 square-foot regional office in Tunkhannock for Williams, the Tulsa, Okla.-based pipeline company.
Regional Manager Mike Dickinson said the company has been proud to be in Tunkhannock the past two and a half years, and wanted to make an even bigger commitment by bringing all of its operations into one setting.

“This is a place we are pleased to call home,” Dickinson said.

Technical services manager Jack Walsh acknowledged that he is on the road a lot- some days in Tunkhannock, others in Clarks Summit and even more in the field so it will be good to have one place to hang his hat.

The new office will be sited just off Rt. 29 near its intersection with Stony Mountain Road in Tunkhannock Township.

It is about 10 miles south of Williams’ Lathrop Compressor Station in Springville, five miles west of its Wilcox Station in Tunkannock Twp., and Dickinson acknowledged Monday the presence of Bill DesRosiers of Cabot the pipeline company’s largest supplier of Marcellus gas in northeast Pennsylvania.

Williams purchased the property last winter, and its plans reveal 20,000 square feet of office space in a 2-story building as well as 12,000 square feet of warehouse space, along with 112 parking spaces.

The dream, Dickinson said, is to have the new office open next spring, where its more than 100 employees can come each day to tackle whatever new challenges it faces.

Construction is expected to begin about August 1 and be under roof by early winter to allow interior work during the winter.

Williams presently has an office on Warren Street in Tunkhannock Borough.

Wyoming County Commissioner Tom Henry called Williams’ presence in the county “an asset which just keeps growing. We’re glad you decided to pick here to consolidate your operations and look forward to continued growth.”