City councilors search for avenues to aid statue project

City councilors continue to look for ways they can assist the American Legion Auxiliary No. 97 in restoring an angel statue that overlooks the veterans section of Libby cemetery.

Members of the auxiliary approached Libby City Council earlier this month with plans to refurbish the timeworn sentinel. The price tag is estimated at $6,000 and repair work hopefully would be finished in time for the statue’s centennial in Libby.

While organizers behind the effort plan to fundraise to come up with the necessary dollars, they lobbied city officials for possible help during an Aug. 2 city council meeting. At the time, city councilors tabled any action, unsure if they could financially support the effort.

Taking up the proposal once more Aug. 16, city councilors again affirmed their interested in helping the project, but only if the city were legally able to pitch in. Mayor Pro Tempore Peggy Williams told her colleagues that the city can pay to repair only city owned property. The American Legion, she said, claimed ownership of the statue.

City Councilor Kristin Smith, who expressed immediate interest in helping the effort earlier this month, wondered whether the statue sitting on city property or in a city right-of-way made a difference.

“I don’t think this should go away at this point,” she said. “I just think we need to explore some more. That’s my personal interest.”

City Councilor Gary Beach also indicated support for some kind of assistance.

“I’d like to see what we can do,” he said.

City Councilor Brian Zimmerman told his colleagues that the municipality had aided other recent work on local statues, but those donations had come in the form of in-kind help.

When the statue originally went up in Libby, it stood at the intersection of Mineral Avenue and Lincoln Boulevard. At some point after getting struck by vandals in 1969, it was relocated to the City of Libby Cemetery.

Anything in the cemetery, but not part of a plot, is city property, Smith argued. Regardless of whether city council donated toward the refurbishment, it needed to iron out its ownership policy, she said.

Ultimately, the proposal stayed put on the city council’s old business section of the agenda. Councilors opted to hold off until they could speak with City Attorney Dean Chisholm, absent during the Aug. 16 meeting.

Residents interested in donating toward the project are encouraged to make checks out to the American Legion Auxiliary No. 97 and mail them, care of Terry Pitcher, to 1840 Elk Road, Libby, MT 59923. Organizers ask that donors write “restructure of the cemetery angel” on the memo or note line.

Will Langhorne contributed to this report.