Benton County should withhold its annual $25,000 payment to the Tri-City Industrial Development Council because it is out of touch with the community, Commissioner Claude Oliver said Friday.

The suggestion, which he made during a budget workshop, was in response to the economic development group's approval Thursday of a resolution to support Department of Energy efforts to shut down Hanford's Fast Flux Test Facility.

Oliver is an avid supporter of restarting the test reactor, which proponents believe could provide medical isotopes to be used to fight cancer and as a test platform for the next generation of nuclear reactors.

Instead of giving TRIDEC the county's payment next year to help with economic development efforts, Oliver suggested the county send $5,000 each to the ports of Kennewick and Benton for the work.

Commissioners Max Benitz Jr. and Leo Bowman did not support Oliver's request.

TRIDEC President Carl Adrian said Friday evening that the group had been discussing the issue in past meetings and everyone was given enough time to read the one-page resolution.

He said members recognize the hard work by the FFTF supporters, but believe it's not a winnable goal. It's time to rechannel efforts into other economic development areas, he said.

Adrian said the board has 39 members, but he did not know how many attended Thursday's meeting or the specific vote count. He said several members abstained from voting on the resolution but a majority voted for the resolution.

TRIDEC is a nonprofit corporation and the umbrella for Tri-City economic development efforts. Its board represents numerous government, private and Hanford interests.

Supporters also wanted to show off their new advertisement, which will be published in today's Tri-City Herald, that suggests the reactor could also have a role in developing more accurate diagnosis of breast cancer.

The group also wanted to point out that 14 other local, county and state agencies support continuing the conversation on the reactor's need. That list includes the cities of Richland and West Richland, and Benton, Franklin and Yakima counties.

And in a split vote, the Benton Franklin District Health Board approved a resolution Thursday night supporting a community campaign to save Hanford's Fast Flux Test Facility.

The resolution asks the Department of Energy to spend $5,000 a month to keep drained cooling loops from corroding, allow community representatives to attend high-level federal discussions on the reactor, and that an environmental study be conducted.

But Department of Energy contractors are continuing work on the deactivation and decommissioning of the reactor. DOE is hoping to completely shut down the reactor by 2012.

FFTF supporters want Sens. Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell, both D-Wash., Gov. Gary Locke and U.S. Rep. Doc Hastings, R-Wash., to request the Department of Energy to protect the reactor's drained coolant loops; plan a meeting with DOE, the Department of Health and Human Services, White House representatives, community representatives and others to discuss and define FFTF's missions; and complete a court-ordered environmental impact study on decommissioning of the reactor.