Lots of good CDBG ideas; dam project steps to forefront

Cross your fingers, Libby. There may be additional funding for the Flower Creek Dam project.

During a public hearing Wednesday night, Libby residents were asked what direction the city might pursue Community Development Block Grant funding.

It seems the room that was mostly full of residents — and some who aren’t — offered some great ideas, but it was Deborah Frey, manager of Treasure Manor, who summed it up best.

“I recommended an assisted living center, which I think is important to Libby, but I agree. I think we need to take care of the Flower Creek Dam project,” Frey said. “If we don’t, we may all have water down on top of us,” Frey said.

While Frey offered a suggestion for an assisted living center, her’s was not the only plan worthy of consideration.

Arlen Magill suggested an enhanced dumpster program. Magill suggested the program could help people who might want to improve the aesthetics of their yards and property.

Jennifer Nelson suggested CDBG funds be used for improving Libby streets and the water-distribution system. 

Danielle P. Maiden, of the Community Action Partnership of Northwest Montana, suggested that funds, if received, be directed toward the low-income needs assessment.

“Somehow, somewhere, we need to look at assisted living center,” Maiden said.

Mayor Roll sympathized with Maiden, saying his father depends on such a living center in Forsythe.

However, it was Vic White, Libby’s Emergency Management Director, whose plan got the most attention from City Council members, who all attended the hearing.

White suggested that CDBG funds, if received by Libby, be directed toward the Flower Creek Dam project, which costs $8.4 million. The water-distribution project is estimated to cost $4.045 million. Both figures are consistent with numbers that were provided six months ago.

“I agree these are some good projects, but we need to do what we can for the dam project,” Roll said.

Ideally, the city could receive as much as $450,000 if its application is granted.

According to Morrison-Maierle Engineer Ryan Jones, who is the point man for this project, the CDBG program is a three-month process. 

“We could hear something by the spring,” Jones said. “Libby has a better chance of securing the grant if it’s based on an urgent need.”

I don’t know whether there is a more urgent need than improving the break that holds back a wall of water 700 feet above our homes.

 (Alan Lewis Gerstenecker is editor of The Western News. His column appears weekly.)