City wades back into Flower Creek spoils pile discussion

Libby City Councilors covered a lot of ground at Monday’s meeting, but the topic they discussed the most was a pile of rock and dirt near the Flower Creek Dam.

The spoils pile, left following the construction of the newer dam in 2016 because the project was over budget, has been discussed before. It consists of sandy silt, gravel, rock and concrete rubble.

In 2021, council approved a plan to grade and armor the eastern edge of the mound because it was the most at risk of erosion. At the time, some thought city workers could get the job done.

In 2023, the city sought proposals with the intent of attracting a contractor interested in the dam construction remnants from the work done eight years ago. But there were no bidders and the pile remains.

Mayor Peggy Williams brought it to council’s attention Monday for a decision to reopen discussion on the pile during the new business portion of the meeting.

Councilors Hugh Taylor and Ian Smith agreed that the spoils pile is, “not something we need to mess with and it could cause more problems if we did.”

The city is considering a hydrology study of the pile and the general area to see if there any risks to the watershed.

Unbeknownst to the city, Ben Scott and Tony Petrusha, who are involved with the Kootenai Cross Country Ski Club, had applied for a $250,000 grant from the Montana Natural Resource Damage Program to do the study.

City Administrator Sam Sikes said the grant failed because the city wasn’t included in the application.

“We didn’t even know they were applying for it and without a comment from the city, the state didn’t OK it,” Sikes said.

City resident Jennifer Nelson said a study of the entire area should be done.

“Protecting our water source is the most important thing,” Nelson said. “Whatever it takes to secure our dam and reservoir is what is needed.

“Our own city engineer (Mike Fraser) said the spoils pile is stable, but if you seek a grant to see what’s happening there, you can get more information and the city has to own that, not these other groups,” Nelson said. “Some of these groups are hell-bent on having that parking lot at the trailhead. We’ve already ruined one water source, we don’t need to ruin another.”

Nelson was referring to the fact that the reservoir is currently the municipality’s only viable water source because prior milling operations contaminated local groundwater.

Nelson was also concerned that someone had cut into the spoils pile to get what was needed when an equipment shed was built on the trail system.

“It was something the city had to spend money to fix and other people shouldn’t be treating it like it's their property when it belongs to the City of Libby and its residents,” she said. 

Councilor Melissa Berke thought it was a good idea to do a study to see what’s happening there.

Fellow councilor Kristin Smith agreed, saying she’d rather get the information, especially if someone else is paying for it.