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Property owner seeks partial reimbursement for main work

by WILL LANGHORNE
The Western News | August 13, 2021 7:00 AM

A local property owner is seeking partial reimbursement from the City of Libby after undertaking an extensive sewer line upgrade along U.S. Highway 2 benefitting the municipality and nearby businesses.

Dan Torgison, owner of the Switchback Bar and Grill property, said he has spent around $90,000 to replace the restaurant’s septic system with an engineered water main. While Torgison initially planned to install a four-inch pipe, he told members of Libby City Council’s water and sewer committee at an Aug. 6 meeting that he invested in the eight-inch main so other businesses could tap into the line. Torgison said Les Schwab, Paul Bunn, owner of the Venture Inn and Country Inn, and Copper Mountain Coffee are already looking to tie into the new main.

The project included roughly $57,000 in equipment and labor costs. Another approximately $20,000 went towards material. Engineering work set Torgison back $9,400 and an engineering error cost him another $7,000. All told, the project includes around 800 feet of sewer line and four manholes.

“Am I asking for it all? No, we’re just asking for some help,” Torgison said, acknowledging that he benefited from the project.

Considering the area’s potential for real estate development, City Councilor Gary Beach said the new water main would be a boon for the city in the long term. If Torgison had gone with the fourinch pipe, and other property owners tapped into it, it could have led to increased stress on the infrastructure and higher maintenance costs to the city.

“Libby has a history of ‘I’m going to tap my

service into my neighbor’s service’ … and you have places that have inadequate piping. And then we end up having to go out and fix it,” said Beach.

Beach noted that new tax dollars from nearby developments could help the city recoup any money it used to reimburse Torgison.

City Councilor Rob Dufficy asked why the city hadn’t set aside funding for the project before Torgison broke ground earlier this year. Jim Hammons,* city administrator, said that Torgison’s original plan of installing a four-inch service line would not have warranted financial aid from the city. Developers tying into existing city sewer mains with service lines on their property pay for the work out of pocket.

To ease the city’s incorporation of the sewer main, Torgison said he worked with City Engineer Mike Fraser on the project. City Councilor Brian Zimmerman said that if municipal officials had helped Torgison finance the project from the start, they likely would have covered at least the $9,400 in engineering costs and the $20,000 needed to purchase parts for the main.

Torgison was not ready to request an amount for reimbursement on Aug. 6 as Fraser and the Switchback’s owners were absent. Zimmerman said committee members would wait to hear back from Torgison on the figure and organize another meeting to begin negotiations.

*The spelling of Hammons's name was corrected