Park Committee urges resolution for veterans

Lincoln County veterans inched a little closer toward finding a permanent home for a monument at Riverfront Park, as discussions with Park Committee members continued Tuesday during a noon meeting at City Hall.

Park Committee members still seek to hammer out particulars of a lease agreement at the park, and in that process the veterans must become a legal entity so the pact can be written.

Park Committee Chairwoman Peggy Williams said she would see that a resolution of support by the City Council for the veterans and their monument is added to the Dec. 3 meeting agenda.

“We’re looking to show some progress on this,” said Veterans Committee Secretary Brent Teske. “We’re seeking donations and people want to see some movement.”

Speaking for the veterans group, Teske assured Libby City Attorney James Reintsma securing a legal status was not an issue, saying he expects that status to come under the umbrella of the Libby Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1548. The veterans already are utilizing the VFW’s nonprofit status.

Accompanying Teske during the meeting were Veterans Committee President Dennis Osborne, Treasurer Ken Mancuso and members Wes Huffman and Larry Pitcher.

Park Committee members include Williams, Vicky Lawrence and Robin Benson.

Teske came prepared with answers to the Park Committee’s concerns expressed previously of utility costs for lighting the flags to be placed at the site, paying for the cost of relocating the sprinkler irrigation system, providing accessibility consistent with the Americans with Disabilities Act, alleviating concerns for lawn care and paying for costs for repairs — if any — to the monument and grounds attributed to vandalism or theft.

Teske said veterans are concerned with further development around the proposed memorial site and asked the Park Committee to be included in discussions for future plans, most notably a planned earthen berm and tree planting.

“We just want to be sure the monument is visible from the roadway,” Teske said. “We don’t want trees obscuring the view.”

Teske said the veterans are looking for high-end solar-powered lighting to illuminate the flag poles and further lessened Park Committee members’ concerns about maintenance, stating the monument would be ground level for easy grass-cutting.

“If they just put one wheel (of a mower) up on the concrete they’ll be able to cut it without weed-eating,” Teske said.

Reintsma also asked the veterans to provide a multi-step plan for the memorial, noting Teske provided a preliminary plan that included four phases of further development as more revenue becomes available.

“We’d like to get started with the concrete pad as soon as we can,” he said. “We’re asking people for money, and they’d like to see some progress.”

As the weight of the monument and its pedestal will approach 2,000 pounds, Reintsma requested the veterans hire an engineer to make sure its base will support the 800 to 1,000 pound bronze, an expense the veterans did not anticipate.

However, Wednesday afternoon, Teske acknowledged the veterans had secured an engineer who is willing to provide free services in honor of a veteran father.

The two latest meetings between the Veterans Committee and the Park Committee have come in contrast to the first two in which sides were at odds about the site and vision for Riverfront Park.

Reintsma agreed to draft a lease agreement patterned after the one the city signed with U Serve Libby, Inc., the pro-tennis group that leases space for the courts adjacent to City Hall.

Veterans are funding the project with the sale of bricks that will commemorate veterans and their service. Bricks will sell for $100 and will include three lines that include a service member’s name and rank, their branch of service and the time of service. Persons wishing to contribute to the memorial may do so by sending a tax-deductible contribution to the Lincoln County Veterans Memorial Foundation Fund, P.O. Box 1638, Libby, Mont., 59923. 

Mancuso, the group’s treasurer, said so far the veterans have raised more than $6,000, of which 25 bricks have been sold.

Included into today’s Western News is a Brick Form, which may be filled out and sent to the above address.

Also, brick applications are available at the American Legion in Libby and the VFWs in both Libby and Troy.

Park Committee members were pleased with the progress.

“The resolution will show that we have reached a tentative agreement,” Williams said.