Council debates property purchase

By BRENT SHRUM Western News Reporter

The Libby City Council on Monday debated the merits of purchasing a vacant lot at the end of Mineral Avenue but stopped short of a decision on the issue.

Councilman Stu Crismore proposed at a meeting earlier this month that the city consider purchase of the lot where the Second Hand Store sat until it was destroyed by fire in March 2004. Crismore said the price being asked for the property is around $29,000. The city has borrowed $500 from Libby Revitalization Inc. for a buy-sell agreement to hold the property for a period of time. The money is refundable if the city decides not to buy.

The council asked Crismore to provide a more detailed proposal including a rationale for the city buying the property.

At Monday's meeting, Crismore suggested that the council visit with LRI to explore the issue. He said he doesn't think the city should keep the property over the long-term, but that the city should do what it can to ensure that development of the property fits into a streetscape plan commissioned by LRI.

"I just think that it's something we really need to seriously consider," he said.

There are better uses for the city's money, said Councilman Walt McElmurry.

"We've got a hundred things more important in this community for using that money for," he said.

McElmurry asked if the city doesn't already have some control over how the property would be developed.

There's not much the city can do, said city supervisor Dan Thede.

"As long as it meets code and building requirements, that's about the only control that you have," he said.

Councilman Gary Huntsberger said the project should be led by LRI, not the city.

"I want Revite to do this," he said.

In other business, the council:

l Passed the first reading of an amended ordinance giving the city the authority to set investment fees for new water and sewer hookups.

Last month, the council tabled a resolution setting a fee structure based on concerns that a clause in the underlying ordinance would result in existing utility customers being charged as well. The ordinance giving the authority to enact the fees had been previously passed by the council, but Mayor Tony Berget pointed out a clause in the ordinance he interpreted as requiring existing residential water and sewer customers to pay along with newcomers. The fee would be set at 70 percent of the rate schedule for new hookups - around $1,500 for water and $1,700 for sewer - resulting in a total assessment of around $2,300.

The amended ordinance removes the section dealing with fees for existing customers.

The ordinance, based on one on the books in Columbia Falls, provides a means of offsetting the cost of expanding the water and sewer systems when their current capacity is reached.

l Agreed to send a letter to the Lincoln County Credit Union giving the credit union permission to pay off the balance of a $50,000 loan to Libby Woodworks with a certificate of deposit purchased by the city as a loan guarantee.

The city approved the loan guarantee in September 2002 using funds from its $8 million economic development grant. A second $50,000 CD was purchased to guarantee another loan to Libby Woodworks from the Northwest Business Center. The loans were intended to help the business expand, but the business has since failed.

Mayor Tony Berget said the city now has the option of attempting to collect on the debt. Councilman Lee Bothman said Northwest Business Center made "some egregious errors" in administering the loans "and I think that does give us some room for negotiation."