City to use combination of grants for upcoming projects

The City of Libby received a grant from the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) for $573,000 which will go toward fixing the city’s water and sewer systems.

The city received the good news in early October in the form of a letter from Gov. Greg Gianforte.

According to Libby City Administrator Sam Sikes, the ARPA money is not enough to cover the entirety of two water and sewer projects the city is planning.

However, the money will be used in lieu of the city’s required matching funds for the projects, and the remaining costs will be covered by other grants.

This will prevent the city from taking out loans.

The first project the city will be using this funding for is an auxiliary bar screen.

The screen will be located at the headworks leading into the sewer treatment plant in order to remove debris before it enters the treatment process.

The bar screen will also be funded by the Delivering Local Assistance Program which has granted the city $478,000, and the city plans to contribute $426,474.50 to the project using ARPA funds.

The city also plans to overhaul the wastewater plant controllers. This project is funded by four separate grants.

The city has already received $1.1 million for the project through three previous grants. The new ARPA funds will go toward the city’s portion of the payment for a total of $147,474.50.

The wastewater plant’s controllers will be replaced, as the current controller is “antiquated to say the least,” according to Sikes.