Mayor: All to have say on cameras

The controversial idea to place surveillance cameras on Mineral Avenue to prevent vandalism wasn’t on the Libby City Council meeting agenda Tuesday, but it was brought up anyway.

“Where are we at with the surveillance cameras?” asked Allen Olsen during the “hear from the public” portion of the meeting.

The issue will be on the March 1 meeting agenda, Mayor Doug Roll said.

“If the council wants to go through with it, then we’ll take it to businesses,” he said. “At any point in time we can stop this process. Everyone is going to have a say in this.”

Roll mentioned that Police Chief Jim Smith is in the process of looking for cameras that would pick up a clear enough picture during the night, and that Smith found a $25,000 grant for the project.

Roll introduced the idea last month in his “State of the City” address to the Libby Area Chamber of Commerce. Since then some business owners on Mineral Avenue have vocalized their opposition to any measure that would cost them more money in an already financially depressed time.

Others have feared that cameras would be used to monitor downtown bars, though Roll and Smith maintain that the proposed system would automatically download to a hard drive and only be accessed in the case of vandalism.

In other news at Tuesday’s meeting:

• After receiving input from concerned parents, the council decided to amend a proposed bicycle ordinance. The original resolution would have made all traffic laws apply to bicyclists within the city limits. The council discussed only making the resolution apply to the business district, so that children may still legally ride their bikes on sidewalks in their neighborhood. 

• The council voted unanimously to retain Morrison-Maierle to create a 10-year Capital Improvement Plan for the city’s parks, streets, sidewalks and water treatment infrastructure at a flat rate of $5,000.

• The building committee officially recommended that the city not get involved in violations or alleged violations of state licensing laws.

• The resolution and ordinance committee suggested that the city adopt a new policy concerning city business license ordinance violators. The issue will be discussed further at the next meeting, but the committee recommended sending two notices to individuals who are working within the city without a business license. As a final measure, the city would then send a notice to appear in front of the council. If the business owner is found to be in clear violation or fails to appear, the individual could be cited.