Plevel says good-bye to council, thankful for life

Julie Plevel used to be a workaholic. The 60-hour a week type, looking to get ahead. But in 2013 she was diagnosed with stage-four colon cancer. It had metastasized to other organs in her body. Doctors said she’d live a couple of years, if that.

She started treatment and has responded well. She’s currently in remission.

The workaholic attitude is gone.

“I’m enjoying my life immensely,” she said last week. “Cancer’s been a blessing in disguise.”

Now her priorities are playing with her grandchildren. Plevel spent 10 years as a Columbia Falls city councilwoman, a tenure she’s proud of.

“It’s been a great experience,” she said. “Everyone should have that kind of civil service experience.”

She said she was especially proud of the city’s efforts to buy and create River’s Edge Park and the turnaround of the Mosquito Flats neighborhood, which has become a quality place to live.

She credited City Manager Susan Nicosia and former manager Bill Shaw for their efforts. Nicosia brings great ideas to the table and sees them through.

“It makes it a lot easier for city council,” she said. “Susan would bring her ideas to council and we’d act on them.”

Plevel grew up in King’s Beach, Calif. on the north shore of Lake Tahoe. Her husband, Patrick, is a homebuilder and Plevel has spent the better part of her career in real estate. The couple moved here in 1991, because they knew they could never afford waterfront property in Tahoe. But when they arrived, they discovered they couldn’t afford waterfront property in the Flathead either. Instead, they found a place on Jensen Road with a pond. It all worked out. Later on, they would move to a home in the city limits. 

Plevel got her real estate license in 1993 and partnered with Bill Dakin to form Columbia Falls Realty. In 2001 they bought the Remax franchise. In 2014 Dakin bought out her partnership.

She said Columbia Falls is on the upswing, particularly with the new Cedar Creek Lodge going in.

“The Lodge will be a huge jump off point for other activity in the city,” she said.

Today, Plevel and her husband have plans to travel south in the winter months, visiting family in Las Vegas, Nevada. 

“We’re going metal detecting out in the desert,” she said.

The couple have three grown children, Aaron, Jesse and Russell. Aaron and Jesse still live in rural Columbia Falls, Russell lives in Missoula. All told, Plevel has five grandchildren.

“My outlook on life is much more upbeat,” she said. “Playing with my grandchildren is now a priority.”