Page 37 - Flathead Beacon // 6.25.14

FLATHEADBEACON.COM BUSINESS MONTHLY JUNE 25, 2014 | 37
ENERGIZING THOUGHTS Flathead Electric Co-op FEC Mitigates Risk
Building Permits
Building permits issued in Kalispell and Whitefish in May
W of Destructive Activity
HAT IS BEING DONE TO sus the benefits. Flathead Electric could
KALISPELL
Recipient: Bill and Heather Sullivan; 14 Glacier Circle
Contractor: Owner
For: Single-family residence
Value: $$334,000
Recipient: Ron Terry Construction Inc.; 18 Empire Loop
Contractor: Ron Terry Construction Inc. For: Townhouse
Value: $100,000
Recipient: Ron Terry Construction Inc.; 20 Empire Loop
Contractor: Ron Terry Construction Inc. For: Townhouse
Value: $100,000
Recipient: Dale Bolz; 137 Pheasant Run Contractor: Owner
For: Garage
Value: $29,400
Recipient: Carisch, Inc.; 1210 Hwy 2 W Contractor: Gray Companies, Inc. For: Remodel
Value: $90,000
Recipient: Montana Army National Guard; 2989 Hwy 93 N
Contractor: Montana Fire Sprinkler
For: Sprinklers
Value: $20,000
Recipient: Ray and Rainey Schuman; 127 Sage Grouse Way
Contractor: Bob Rossman Group For: Single-family residence
Value: $257,000
Recipient: Caleb and Vanessa Pleasants; 412 Sixth Ave. E
Contractor: S/C Properties
For: Garage
Value: $40,000
Recipient: Edward and Marilyn Stathas; 825 Parkway Dr.
Contractor: Owner
For: Townhouse
Value: $125,000
Recipient: Edward and Marilybn Stathas; 827 Parkway Dr.
Contractor: Owner
For: Townhouse
Value: $125,000
Recipient: Flathead County Fairgrounds; 265 N Meridian Rd.
Contractor: Outback Construction
For: Grandstands
Value: $179,000
Recipient: TKG Spring Prairie Develop- ment LLC; 85 Treeline Rd.
Contractor: Systems Northwest, LLC For: Fire alarm
Value: $3,573
Recipient: Silverbrook Estates; 115 Lazy Creek Way
Contractor: Silverbrook Investments For: Single-family residence
Value: $350,000
Recipient: Wayne and Teri Beatty; 315 Eighth St. E
Contractor: Owner
For: Egress windows
Value: $2,965
Recipient: Rocky Mountain Sub Specialty; 350 Heritage Way
Contractor: Swank Enterprises
For: Medical office
Value: $798,114
Recipient: B.I.D. Inc.; 155 Battle Ridge Dr. Contractor: B.I.D. Inc.
For: Single-family residence
Value: $176,056
Recipient: KRMC; 310 Sunnyview Ln. Contractor: Swank Enterprises
For: Remodel
Value: $95,199
Recipient: 93 & Church LLC; 139 Owl Creek Trail
Contractor: Silverbrook Investments For: Single-family residence
Value: $350,000
Recipient: TKG Spring Prairie Develop- ment LLC; 85 Treeline Rd.
Contractor: Automatic Fire
For: Sprinklers
Value: $19,790
Recipient: Mackinaw and Co.; 121 Ruppel Way Contractor: Mackinaw and Co.
For: Single-family residence
Value: $210,000
WHITEFISH
Recipient: City of Whitefish; 1 Central Ave. Contractor: Meredith Construction
For: Bathrooms
Value: $192,000
Recipient: Dick Idol; 238 Central Ave. Contractor: Owner
For: Remodel
Value: $10,000
Recipient: Quickies; 250 E Second St. Contractor: TBD
For: Remodel
Value: $540
Recipient: Erik Wilson; 559 Edgewood Pl. Contractor: Hoover Construction
For: Remodel
Value: $5,000
Recipient: CBS Development; 757 Aspen Grove Contractor: CBS Development
For: Townhouse
Value: $217,500
Recipient: CBS Development; 753 Aspen Grove Contractor: CBS Development
For: Townhouse
Value: $217,500
Recipient: 118 W 2nd LLC; 120 W Second St.
Contractor: Mindful Designs
For: New construction
Value: $25,800
Recipient: 118 W 2nd LLC; 120 W Second St. C
Contractor: Mindful Designs
For: New construction
Value: $158,400
Recipient: 118 W 2nd LLC; 120 W Second St. B
Contractor: Mindful Designs
For: New construction
Value: $158,400
Recipient: 118 W 2nd LLC; 120 W Second St. A
Contractor: Mindful Designs
For: New construction
Value: $158,400
Recipient: Crestwood Condo HOA; 1301 Wisconsin Ave.
Contractor: My Way Works LLC For: Remodel
Value: $11,937
Recipient: Richard and Suzanne Hildner; 104 E Fifth St.
Contractor: North Country Builders
For: Addition
Value: $50,000
Recipient: Matt and Jill Lawrance; 503 W Fourth St.
Contractor: Owner
For: Addition
Value: $45,000
Recipient: Kathy Watkins; 624 Columbia Ave. Contractor: Paul Moffatt Construction For: Addition
Value: $20,000
Recipient: Peter and Cheri Aronsson; 926 & 928 E Second St.
Contractor: Croskrey Building
For: Addition
Value: $136,045
Recipient: Susan Prilliman; 211 W Fourth St. Contractor: Right Angle Builders
For: Addition
Value: $40,000
Recipient: Barnes Whitefish LLC; 5062 Flatwater Dr.
Contractor: Ron Terry Construction For: Single-family residence
Value: $203,500
Recipient: Karen Nicoletti and Jeff Anderson; 550 Flint Ave. Contractor: Cheff Construction For: Single-family residence Value: $168,700
Recipient: Scott Senger; 5076 Flatwater Dr. Contractor: Ron Terry Construction
For: Single-family residence
Value: $215,000
Recipient: Matt and Jill Lawrance; 503 W Fourth St.
Contractor: Owner
For: Single-family residence Value: $190,000
Recipient: Great Northern Homes; 725 Clearwater Dr.
Contractor: Great Norther Homes For: Single-family residence Value: $390,00
Recipient: Michael Mikado;
1009 Meadowlark Ln.
Contractor: Jesse Lee Custom Homes For: Single-family residence
Value: $275,000
Recipient: Dee Sloan; 1013 E Seventh St. Contractor: Finnish Finish
For: Remodel
Value: $3,000
Recipient: Mary Fennesy; 345 Columbia Ave. Contractor: Owner
For: Remodel
Value: N/A
Recipient: Greg Logan; 219 Minnesota Contractor: Mark Roy
For: Remodel
Value: $5,000
Recipient: Julie Raine; 338 Lupfer Contractor: Artisan Construction For: Remodel
Value: $2,000
Recipient: Leona Constenius; 743 W Third St.
Contractor: Aluma Glass
For: Remodel
Value: N/A
Recipient: Aaron Boysen; 434 Pine Ave. Contractor: Gregg Garcelon Construction For: Remodel
Value: $900
Recipient: Doug Marlin; 2319 Houston Point Dr.
Contractor: Blankenship Construction For: Remodel
Value: $15,000
Recipient: Jeff Hobart; 744 Somers Ave. Contractor: D&V Construction
For: Remodel
Value: $9,800
Recipient: Alan Martineau; 540 Masters Court
Contractor: TDM
For: Remodel
Value: $3,000
Recipient: Lance Heavirland; 830 Birch Point Dr.
Contractor: Chris Gulick
For: Remodel
Value: $12,000
secure the power grid against fortify its substations like Fort Knox terrorism at Flathead Electric – increasing rates drastically – but if
Cooperative?
That was a question posed by a
member at the FEC Annual Meeting in March, and it’s a timely one because the issue has come to the forefront with a recent report in the Wall Street Jour- nal. The report projects that the U.S. could suffer a coast-to-coast blackout if saboteurs knocked out just nine — four in the East, three in the West and two in Texas — of the country’s 55,000 electric- transmission substations on a scorching summer day. The article went on to say the forecast is based on a FERC (Federal Energy Regulatory Commission) analy- sis indicating the loss of those key sub- stations could plunge the country into darkness for weeks, if not months.
Some federal officials say those con- clusions overstate the grid’s vulnerabil- ity, and Flathead Electric’s Director of Engineering Jason Williams says he is skeptical as well. “Let’s look at what hap- pened in California, for example. Snip- ers shot holes into the cooling systems sustaining 17 giant transformers that supply all of Silicon Valley. Although the transformers were destroyed, Pacific Gas & Electric (the utility that operates those transformers) was able to avoid a large scale outage by rerouting power from another source.”
Williams says smaller utilities, like Flathead Electric, are less likely to be the target of terrorist activities, because while an attack on our system would im- pact members in this service territory, it would have no effect on the national grid. “Unlike the massive utilities that intertie with each other for generation and transmission, we are isolated within our own infrastructure.”
Some of the most difficult decisions facing utilities today concern security measures and weighing the costs ver-
the transmission system that delivers our power supply were compromised, it would all have been an effort in futility.
That said, however, the Co-op has a strong culture of safety and security and continuously evaluates system protec- tion. “We are both proactive and reactive to mitigating risks regarding changing technologies, regulations and all of the various industry dynamics” says Wil- liams. “We enforce all required codes, we have contingency plans in place and two-way communications. We regularly inspect and monitor our substations and equipment and we have surveillance of Co-op property. Our data is backed up daily at a separate undisclosed location; we have alternate meeting sites and oth- erwise do everything we think makes sense financially and practically for Flathead Electric.”
Williams says we are more suscep- tible to outages from weather events than we are from terrorist activity, but either way power would be restored in a conventional manner. “There’s no guar- antee on how quickly we could reener- gize, depending on the magnitude of the situation, but we have redundancy built into the system. So we would identify the problem area, redirect power and ac- tivate one line at a time, just as it would be done on a national level. If need be, we would request aid from a neighbor- ing utility and borrow a transformer or other supplies if ours were damaged. There’s strength in numbers and while we Montanans are typically very inde- pendent and resourceful, we also extend our cooperative principles to our neigh- bors, be they in our local communities, throughout the region, or to our fellow Americans across the country. The ad- age is true that “united we stand.”
Wendy Ostrom-Price is the Flathead Electric Co-op public relations officer.
Name: Beacon Business - Construction Loans Size: 4.74” x 2.87”
Introducing your construction loan team
As one of the largest lenders in the region, we’re ready to help you open the door to your new home.
DANIEL JAMES
Loan Originator ID 806895
[email protected]
406-751-2573
BRIAN PELC
Loan Originator ID 707819
[email protected]
406-751-2574
2 MAIN STREET | KALISPELL
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