Meeting planned on community cleanup

Libby Revitalization is organizing a meeting between the county and the city to discuss an area cleanup.

The meeting, Monday, Nov. 15, at 7:30 p.m. in city hall, was originally scheduled as a work session between the Libby Revitalization Inc. board, city officials and county officials. But now the public is being encouraged to attend.

³As a community, we have spent many dollars in bringing in experts in tourism, economic development, planning and more and the bottom line in most reports is this: you have a beautiful area but your community is a mess,² said Betty Jo Wood, LRI director. ³We want to tackle this problem and try to make out community as nice as our surroundings.²

Wood said she hopes the discussion results in an action plan.

³We understand that we have many problems in this area that the city and county are working on and we also understand the law enforcement folks are busy with much larger problems,² Wood said. ³However, we do also know that city and the county have enacted ordinances to help with cleaning up and maintaining our living areas.²

LRI wants to know how they can help enforce those ordinances, she said.

³If we have volunteer ordinance officers that could report offenses to law enforcement, would that help?² she asked. ³Would the court system handle the offenders?²

Among the laws, Wood is looking at are the city ordinances on :

• Garbage dumping;

• Rubbish, garbage and junk vehicles;

• Signage;

• Vacant lots;

• Hawkers and peddlers;

• Loitering;

• Destruction of property;

• Posting signs and handbills;

• Parking time;

• Sidewalk repair;

There is only one county ordinance under consideration — the community decay regulations passed by voters in 1992.

Also being considered are enforcement of the state¹s junked vehicle law and the state¹s law of advertising along highways.

Wood is hoping to not only have the city and county representatives but law enforcement officials, the health department, building and fire code, the city and county attorney¹s offices and judges.

³This is on project on which we can all work together and it needs only ideas and willing community participation to make it happen,² she said.