Vault toilet approved near cross country ski facility

Months after first appearing on Libby City Council’s agenda, a proposal for a vault toilet near the Flower Creek cross country ski course received approval this week.

The restroom facility comes courtesy of the Kootenai Cross Country Ski Club, which first pitched the vault toilet in October. At the time, city councilors held off on taking action. They belatedly learned what they thought was an engineered, prefabricated facility was neither approved by an engineer nor prefabricated.

With engineer-approved designs in hand, Tony Petrusha, a Libby resident and city park manager, told councilors Monday that he had met their requirements.

“I believe the last time we met that was your requisite: get some engineer drawings for the vault toilet,” he said. “Done.”

Petrusha told councilors that Ben Scott, president of the Kootenai Cross Country Ski Club, had contracted the engineer. While Petrusha said he was unsure of who the engineer was, City Engineer Mike Fraser assured councilors that the municipality would not be liable for any problems with the toilet.

“If the engineer stamped it, he’s responsible,” said Fraser.

Jennifer Nelson, a Libby resident who also serves as the county forester, asked councilors to consider tabling the project. She argued that the vault toilet had appeared again under “old business” on the agenda, as it had for many months. Nelson worried that residents interested in speaking out on the topic missed their opportunity.

City Attorney Dean Chisholm said the council could still vote on the matter and City Councilor Kristin Smith noted that the vault toilet plans were included in the agenda packet for the night.

Smith made the motion to approve the toilet and Zimmerman offered a second. The final vote was unanimous.