Libby Nordic ski project rejected again

The Libby City Council again has nixed the Kootenai Cross Country Ski Club’s effort to garner a $25,000 grant to pave a half-mile of trail near Flower Creek.

The council voted 4-2 on Jan.21 against the proposal, citing liability concerns, past permitting problems with improvements at the site and worries that paving might threaten Libby’s water supply.

The decision came just two weeks after the council directed the cross-country ski organization to await a source water delineation report from the state. Because the Flower Creek drainage feeds into the city’s water supply, improvements undertaken there must be weighed against potential harm to the community, council members maintained.

Proponents of the project could return to the council after the delineation report was finished, Mayor Brent Teske said at the time. The assessment is expected to occur in the spring.

Ben Scott, president of the skiing organization, presented a slightly reworked proposal to the council Jan. 21. The new request sought city council approval provided the delineation report returned with no problems.

Because the city owns the property, the ski club needs the council’s approval for the project before U.S. Forest Service officials sign off on a grant. Delaying now might mean several years would pass before the group could again ask for federal funds for the proposal, he warned.

Scott described the paving project as integral to efforts to turn the Flower Creek area into a regional cross-country skiing hub.

“When you look at Nordic trails in areas where the cross-country skiing is quite a bit more popular — Scandinavian or Maine — it allows cross-country skiing to be done year-round,” he said. “The nearest trails like this are previous Olympic sites.”

But opponents on city council pointed to previous problems with projects in the area, including permitting issues, as reason enough to reject the proposal.