Port authority more water for new businesses

The Kootenai Business Park needs some water to help it grow.

With that in mind, the Lincoln County Commissioners signed a letter in support of a grant that would provide for preliminary engineering of the 418-acre park. 

Tina Oliphant — executive director of the Kootenai River Development Council and Lincoln County Port Authority — drafted the letter for submission to the Big Sky Economic Development Trust Fund. 

The business park currently has water from the city of Libby, but if a business were to move into the park to occupy a new building, the water supply would be insufficient, she said. 

District 2 Commissioner Greg Larson said the water line extension is “badly needed,” and District 1 Commissioner Mark Peck called the potential addition “a no-brainer.” 

The grant application comes on the heels of the news that the business park will be receiving $750,000 in federal grant funds to rehabilitate its 3,070-foot rail spur line and connect it to the BNSF Railway.