Commissioners OK block grant to aid golf-car company at Port Authority

By late summer, workers in Libby could be assembling state-of-the-art lithium ion-powered golf cars.

Lincoln County commissioners on Wednesday signed off on a state-funded Community Development Block Grant application for LiV Golf Cars to be assembled at the Port Authority’s Central Maintenance Building. With their unanimous endorsement of the application, which will include $368,000 for the project, commissioners could bring 15 new jobs to Libby. Hopes are to increase those employment figures to 26 workers in the second year and 47 by the third year.

“These jobs would be open to all,” said Jon Hoster, one of three founders of the company. “Unlike logging jobs that are mostly for men, these jobs could be for men and women.” 

Kootenai River Development Council Executive Director Paul Rumelhart, stressing a difference from these numbers to those of another company that may have been inflated, said the employment numbers are factual.

“(If anything), those numbers are pessimistic,” Rumelhart said. “They are on the low end.”

According to a presentation by KRDC Assistant Director Brigid Burke, positions would include a production supervisor, assembly persons, sales people, discharging staff, marketing and accounting staffers, purchasing, materials acquisition and service technicians. For all his descriptions of the business, Hoster said the enterprise still is not yet ready to begin accepting job applications.  

The talkative Hoster outlined the $1.169 million project that includes a $220,000 investment from himself and co-founders Urson Russell and Jason Ouimette, $581,030 from a Small-Business Association loan, as well as the CDBG funds. The name of the company — LiV Golf Cars, Inc. — represents Lithium-Ion Vehicle Golf Cars.

The business, which Hoster anticipates getting into production in August or September, will make its home in an estimated 12,000 of the 60,000-square-foot Central Maintenance Building on Port Authority property. Currently, that site is home to the businesses of Thompson Contracting, Columbia Mountain Mechanical and Glen Doubek.

Hoster’s idea for the golf cars, which he differentiated from golf carts by saying “carts are pushed,  and cars are driven,” will become the first of its kind from a lithium-ion power source.

“The lead-acid battery is 150-year-old technology,” said Hoster, who lives in the Yaak. “Lithium-batteries are 99 percent efficient while lead-acid is 76 percent efficient. A lithium battery is lighter, there’s less corrosion and they last longer than lead-acid. In most cases, a lithium battery will last 10 to 12 years while a lead-acid battery will last two to four years. If you look at a package of lithium (home use) batteries, their shelf life is like six years.”

Major golf car manufacturers Club Car, EZ Go and Yamaha all manufacture electric golf cars. However, none feature the lithium batteries.

  “No one,” Hoster said of the exclusivity of lithium-ion golf cars. 

   At Burke’s urging from a PowerPoint presentation, Hoster said his company has plans to offer health and medical insurance and, in time, retirement benefits.

   While initially, the plant will be an assembly location of parts that are made elsewhere, Hoster said he envisions as the company grows to have parts made locally. Also, he anticipates his carts to be shipped in complete assembly, unlike most other manufacturers. 

“Long term, we are looking at manufacturing parts here,” Hoster said. “I believe there are businesses here that are capable of manufacturing the parts necessary.” 

The first year production plans are to assemble 1,280 cars and increase that number to 3,000 the second year.

Hoster said prices of the LiV Golf Cars will be somewhat higher than the lead-acid battery cars, but because of the longer battery life, the LiV Golf Cars will be cheaper to operate for golf courses in the long run.

“I think it could be good,” Presiding Commissioner Tony Berget said of the enterprise shortly after signing off on the CDBG application. “They actually started working on this about six years ago. Paul and Brigid should be commended for this. They’ve been working their butts off to bring this here. A lot of times they have to play these things close to the vest until they’re ready to release it to the media. There are some other things coming, too.”