Libby tree-planting efforts add more than 150 to lands

The Western News

City Councilwoman Vicki Lawrence once again led the efforts to spruce up Libby this spring by rounding up a crew of 71 volunteers to plant more than 150 trees along a downtown thoroughfare and in the city’s most scenic park.

In past years, the annual tree-planting ritual was mired in controversy due to criticism of Lawrence by fellow City Council member Allen Olsen. Lawrence, Olson has claimed, blurred the line between her role on the council and as the administrator of a state grant that provides money for the city’s tree program because she accepted a $2,000 grant stipend for planting trees in 2011. He also has chided Lawrence for buying trees from non-local vendors in past years. 

This year, however, Olsen doesn’t have much to complain about. Lawrence purchased the trees from a Libby vendor and did not accept a stipend for administering the grant. 

“I’m glad to see this year you went local. It’s money spent here,” Olsen told Lawrence during a City Council meeting Monday when the tree plantings at Riverfront Park and Mineral Avenue were brought up during the Park Committee report.

Nonetheless, Olsen said “something just doesn’t seem right” about the arrangement that allows Lawrence to vote on issues related to the tree program as part of her role on the City Council while also administering a grant from the Montana Department of Natural Resources (DNRC). 

“I still think she should not be administering grants (as a sitting council member),” Olsen said. 

Lawrence refused to comment for this story. But she pointed to a recent letter from the DNRC that indicated the agency had conducted an investigation along with the U.S. Forest Service on the tree grant and had found no wrongdoing. 

Former Libby Councilman D.C. Orr initiated the DNRC investigation, which prompted the response.

“While the DNRC’s role is to see that the terms of the grant agreement are fulfilled — and DNRC is aware of no actions that amount to a breach of the terms of the grant agreement — and not to assert authority over who the City of Libby assigns to assure that it carries out its responsibilities under the grant agreement, (the) DNRC is satisfied that neither the City of Libby nor Mrs. Lawrence have acted either fraudulently or unethically,” Rob Ethridge, the Forestry Assistance Bureau Chief with the DNRC, wrote in the letter. 

Libby City Attorney Jim Reintsma agreed with the DNRC’s assessment, saying Lawrence did nothing wrong. 

Since 2005, the city has spent $129,349 on the tree program, according to accounting documents provide by Lawrence. A large portion of the money spent on the tree program came from grants, while other expenses were paid by the city. 

Of the total spent during the past eight years, $111,154 went to local businesses, according to accounting documents provided by Lawrence. Another $18,195 was spent at businesses outside of Lincoln County. 

The differences between Olsen and Lawrence started about seven years ago and came to a head in 2009 after Lawrence spent $1,465 on trees from Antler Tree Nursery, which is owned and operated by Olsen. Lawrence has said Olsen provided trees with roots wrapped in burlap instead of with bare roots, causing the price of the trees to exceed expectations by about 50 percent. 

At the time, Olsen was not on the City Council and was, therefore, eligible to bid on city contracts. After Olsen was elected in 2011, he became ineligible for city contracts due to the state’s conflict-of-interest laws. 

During the past three planting seasons, Olsen has raised concerns on several occasions about Lawrence’s dual roles and her decision to buy trees and supplies from non-local sources. He also said the city wasted $11,000 on a crop of Ponderosa pines that did not survive, except one. He calls the lone survivor “Libby’s $11,300 Ponderosa pine.” 

“Of all those nearly 40 trees planted, only one survived,” Olsen said.

This year, Lawrence solicited bids from three local tree suppliers and ultimately contracted with a local irrigation company, Jack’s Water Works, to buy 39 trees from Hooper’s Garden Center in Kalispell. Another 104 trees were provided by the DNRC. Eleven trees came from other sources. 

In all, Lawrence and her crew planted seven Colorado blue spruces, 40 bare-root trees and 107 Ponderosa pine seedlings.

Libby resident Jennifer Nelson participated in a recent tree planting at Riverfront Park, and she said the benefits to the park are immense.

“Trees will have a long-term impact,” Nelson said. “The Tree City program will add value and increase shade at the park. There was a long time when we didn’t plant trees.”

Specifically, Nelson said the trees will enhance Riverfront Park as a buffer.

“They will act as a sound buffer from the railroad tracks while providing much-needed shade down there in the grassy areas.”