Veterans, city advance effort in Riverfront Park agreement

The Western News

Libby city officials and the Lincoln County Veterans Memorial Committee are moving ahead with plans to bring a veterans’ memorial to Riverfront Park.

The city will partner with Lincoln County and the volunteer Libby Parks Board to help maintain the developing facility along the banks of the Kootenai River.

The Parks Board is different from the Parks Committee, which is comprised of council members.

Mayor Doug Roll met last week with representatives of the veterans’ group planning the memorial to begin the process of developing a contract to accept the statue and associated features as a gift, bringing it under the city’s liability insurance at no cost to the veterans’ group and with no increase to the city’s premiums.

“We can add 10 monuments. It’s not going to increase any cost,” Roll said.

Veterans Committee Secretary Brent Teske agreed the process is advancing, but he added veterans must first agree on a contract with the city, which is being drawn up by City Attorney Jim Reintsma.

“It’s accurate,” Teske said. “We voted to continue on this path until we decide it’s not something we want. If all goes well, we could have a deal,” Teske said.

The veterans’ group has offered to help pay for maintenance as well as insurance to cover any damage to the memorial, Roll said. Coverage is estimated at $137 annually for losses of up to $100,000.

In a separate meeting, the mayor sat down with representatives of the county and the Libby Parks Board to begin working on an interlocal agreement to help fund the long-term upkeep of parks in the area. The agreement will call for each entity to contribute $1,000 per year to be placed into a special parks account.

The contract with the veterans and the agreement with the county and the Parks Board are being reviewed by Reintsma and will be submitted to the City Council and the respective boards of the other organizations involved for approval, Roll said.

Roll said the city is building on all the work the Parks Committee has put into these issues,” Roll said.

Plans for the veterans’ memorial include a life-size bronze statue depicting a soldier pulling another to safety.