Libby City Council recap

The Libby City Council met Monday, July 2.

Items on the agenda included the following:

Planning Board open house, vacancy

The City Planning Board is holding an open house 6 p.m. July 23 at City Hall.

Its purpose is to “reveal the work that we’ve been doing on the downtown zoning district,” said Kristin Smith, council member and the city’s representative on the Planning Board. “It’s been several years in the making.”

Smith also noted that the Planning Board still has a vacancy for a city resident. The position has been open since Feb. 20.

Libby Mayor Brent Teske previously said that the board “is a simple board to be on,” and “a good stepping stone” for people wanting to get involved with the community.

Smith has invited anyone interested in learning more about what the role entails to contact her at 406-240-1494 or kristin.smith@cityoflibby.com.

An application is available at City Hall or online at linccntymt.seamlessdocs.com/f/CityPBApp.

International Paper payment received

The City of Libby received its annual payment from International Paper, the result of a settlement following the creosote contamination of groundwater from the company’s mill site.

The payment, applying to fiscal year 2018, was $232,923.20 after a 20 percent attorney fee of $58,230.80, paid to Doney Crowley P.C. of Helena.

The current 10-year settlement ends with the fiscal year 2019 payment, after which the settlement will be up for renegotiation.

Ski club signs lease

The Kootenai Cross County Ski Club signed a 20-year lease agreement for its roughly 28-acre cross country ski and biathlon course on city property.

Under lease terms, the club will pay the city $1 a year for use of the land along Flower Creek Road about three miles south of Libby.

The lease also requires the ski club to maintain a $1 million liability insurance policy and to ensure public access, while allowing it to charge a fee to use the course.

With the signing of the lease, the ski club can proceed with erecting a building to provide shelter and to store equipment the club uses to maintain its course. The city granted the ski club permission to do so June 18, conditional on the signing of the lease.

Chicken ordinance introduced

Following about four months of work in committee, an ordinance to allow the keeping of chickens in Libby city limits was introduced to the full council.

Roosters and bantee chickens are prohibited in the draft ordinance. A maximum of five hens will be allowed, depending on the space made available to them.

The first reading of the ordinance is expected to be on the agenda of the next City Council meeting on July 16.

Information policy introduced

Ordinance Committee Chair Kristin Smith introduced a draft ordinance that sets a public information policy and fee schedule for requests as allowed for in the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).

The committee is recommending adopting Lincoln County’s recently adopted policy “for its clarity, brevity and ease of implementation.”

The draft ordinance proposes charging 50 cents for the first page and 25 cents for each subsequent page of copied materials. It also proposes charging $30 per hour for a staff member’s “time to review, gather, or redact documents” that are outside what the staff member is custodian of.

It was noted that the ordinance would need to be updated to include a higher rate for any work performed by the city attorney, Dean Chisholm, whose contract does not include the review of public information requests.

Chisholm’s rate wasn’t addressed at Monday’s meeting, but in a recent public information request by Libby resident Arlen Magill it was quoted as $225 an hour.

The draft ordinance also outlines what information the city will not release, including personnel, payroll and medical records or files and records pertaining to juveniles.

It also contains a draft form for requesting information.

Dog control agreement signed

The City Council unanimously approved a 12-month animal control agreement between the City of Libby and Lincoln County at a cost of $12,000.

The agreement, for the period of July 1, 2018 to June 30, 2019, stipulates how the two entities will “share in the enforcement of dog control ordinances” within city limits and the boundaries of the Libby Rural Fire District.

The county also agrees to provide equipment and help for city residents for the humane trapping of cats, to sell dog licenses and tags, to hire animal control officers and to oversee animal control.

Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office recently put James Derryberry, a former detention officer, in the position of animal control officer.

Police can apply for new vehicle grant

Councilors unanimously approved allowing Libby Police Department to proceed with applying for a grant to go toward purchasing four new police SUVs. They will replace the department’s final four two-wheel drive sedans

The grant, sourced from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development program, would provide up to $50,000 to augment financing for the SUVs. The grant has not yet been approved.

Police Chief Scott Kessel said Thursday that the department has solicited bids both for the vehicles and for financing for the vehicles. He did not yet have a firm idea of how much the department will have to finance, as he is still working through the bidding process.

He said the new vehicles could be purchased as soon as early September, depending on the timing of the process.