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Equipment purchased for Burch Mountain transmission line

Chelan County PUD
News Release
 8/29/2005

PUD commissioners Monday purchased steel poles, power line and ground wire  for the new Burch Mountain transmission line.

Plans call for construction of the $7 million, 8.5-mile line to start in April 2006. The route runs across Burch Mountain, north of Wenatchee, from Rocky Reach Dam to the Andrew York/Monitor Switchyard on Easy Street.

Valmont Industries of Valley, Neb., submitted the lowest of four bids received to  supply the steel H-frame poles for the 230-kilovolt transmission line for $1.3 million.

Western State Electric, Portland, Ore., was the only bidder, but submitted several proposals to supply the steel-reinforced aluminum conductor, or power line. PUD commissioners awarded the contract based on the price of aluminum at the time of shipment, which could range from a total of $285,940 to $296,704. Staff recommended this approach because it was less than the fixed-price proposal.

AFL Telecommunications, Duncan, S.C., will supply the optical ground wire, which carries system operation communications over fiber optics and protects against  faults. It submitted the lowest of six bids received, $92,540.

In other business, commissioners:

  • Received an update on development of the 2006 budget from Joe Jarvis, chief financial officer, and Diane Cooper, accounting director. Over the next two months PUD staff will discuss specific programs and projects and how they fit into the District’s strategic objectives. As part of the discussion, commissioners updated a 1955 resolution to eliminate the filing of a preliminary budget on Sept. 1. The initial budget will be available on the first Monday of October, the date of the first budget hearing, Oct. 3.
  • Changed the start time of their meetings to 10 a.m. for the rest of the year, to provide more time for the budget discussions.
  • Reviewed a letter supporting Wenatchee’s riverfront development plan. The letter will be part of the city’s grant application for state funds to design and build the new Riverside Drive. Four of the five commissioners signed the letter. PUD Commissioner Ann Congdon was concerns about future parking commitments and did not sign the letter.
  • Received a proposal from Commissioner Werner Janssen to schedule a meeting to discuss the relationship between board members. Commissioners Norm Gutzwiler asked for time to review it before responding next week.  
  • Conducted General Counsel Carol Wardel’s evaluation in executive session.

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The next regular the  next regular meeting of the PUD commission is Tuesday, Sept. 6, because of the Labor Day holiday. The meeting will start  at 10 a.m.  in the boardroom of the Headquarters Building, 327 N. Wenatchee Ave.

Most PUD commission meetings are recorded and a link to the audio is available on the PUD’s home page at www.chelanpud.org.

Kimberlee Craig
Public Information Officer
661-4320, direct line
679-6858, cell
kimc@chelanpud.org