Commissioners approve plan to rebrand Lincoln County

The Boad of Lincoln County Commissioners Wednesday unanimously voted to approve a contract with a University of Montana-based public-private partnership to begin the process of rebranding and marketing the communities of Lincoln County.

The estimated $100,000 contract between Lincoln County and Partners Creative is intended to help Lincoln County overcome the years of negative media and stigma associated with asbestos contamination and the Libby Superfund project. The timing, said Commissioner Mark Peck, is critical as the Environmental Protection Agency is now preparing a final Record of Decision for the project and should be completing active operatios within the next three to five years.

“The emergence of the Libby and Troy communities from the Environmental Protection Agency Superfund process presents an opportunity to refresh and reestablish their identities – honoring their heritage but firmly pointing the communities twoard the future,” project lead Kevin Keohane wrote in the proposal.

Peck said the most important thing in rebuilding the reputation of the communities and moving forward is to understand the history of the area and to use that as a foundation upon which to build a solid future identity and direction.

“It’s essential that we embrace our history and acknowledge where we’re at, but more importantly to engage with where we want to be five, 10 and 20 years from now,” he said. “If we do this right, this could be one of the biggest things we do for the future of Libby and all of Lincoln County.”

The program is being managed by the county commissioners, with the assistance of a committee of local residents put together to provide input and support. The committee includes Commissioner Mark Peck, Libby City Council President Brent Teske, local businesswoman Sarah Sorenson, Lincoln County environmental health technician Jennifer Nelson, Lincoln County Asbestos Resource Program manager Nick Raines, Troy businessman Tim Lindsey, Troy resident and Libby city administrator Jim Hammons and Libby businesswoman Kim Peck.

The program will launch Nov. 17, when the team from Partners Creative will arrive in Lincoln County to begin what they label the audit portion of their engagement. During the audit, team members will meet with a number of community stakeholders, both individually and in small to medium-sized focus groups to gain an understanding of the community’s self-perceived identity. Those meetings will include scheduled interviews and group meeting as well as intercepts – random interviews with people at public locations in the community.

The second part of the program will be for the team, working with the commissioners and the committee, to create and articulate the new message of south Lincoln County. It will include a new brand platform designed to show and tell the story of Lincoln County, including a plan to share the message and the story in an effort to create more interest in the communities of Lincoln County. The final phase of the program is for the county to activate the plan, to actively deliver the messages created through advertising, public communications and community engagements.

The commissioners agreed to fund the project from the county’s economic development fund, which they estimated has a balance of approximately $470,000. No money from the county’s general fund will be used for the project. Additionally, Commissioner Peck said he has engaged a number of local businesses in conversations about contributing financially to the program, but as conversations were ongoing he said naming those organizations was premature.

The expense, Peck said, is an investment in the future of the county and one he hopes to see fundamentally change the direction of the community.

“This is what we need to do to start taking control of our own future, our own destiny,” he said. “It’s time for us to decide what we want to be when we roll out of this Superfund site.”