Citing the need to address liability issues, the Flathead County Commissioners moved one step closer to removing the Old Red Bridge.

After learning that the removal could cost $374,206 and that a successful grant application from the Federal Emergency Management Agency could require a county match of about $93,550, the commissioners on Jan. 12 agreed that the county could come up with the match.

According to county planning director BJ Grieve, the county had only a very rough estimate of $250,000 for removing the bridge and needed a more accurate estimate before applying for a FEMA grant.

County public works director Dave Prunty contacted HDR Inc., the engineering company that had worked with First Best Place when the nonprofit group was working toward renovating the bridge for pedestrians and bikes. HDR Inc. came up with $374,206 for engineering, design, construction oversight and removal.

FEMA grant money became available following last spring's floods and a disaster declaration by President Obama, Grieve said. One of the first steps in applying for the funds was to contact the Montana Department of Military Affairs' Disaster and Emergency Services Division, which determined that the Red Bridge could create a flood disaster if it fell into the Flathead River, Grieve said.

"That meant we could go ahead and apply for the FEMA grant," Grieve said.

Prunty told the commissioners last week that his annual budget for bridges is about $800,000, and if the commissioners wanted to use county bridge funds for the FEMA grant match, he could cut back on bridge work in the following year. County administrator Mike Pence noted that payment-in-lieu-of-tax (PILT) money could also be a source of match money.

Both Grieve and Prunty told the commissioners the objective is not to remove an historic bridge but to address a serious liability.

"The best cost alternative is to look at removing the bridge," Grieve said.

"I believe the bridge is a serious liability," Prunty said. "I have terrible concerns about someone getting up on it and jumping and getting hurt."

Commissioner Jim Dupont noted that it was "ironic that the same group wanting to do something with the bridge was the first to say it was a hazard," referring to First Best Place and its demands last year that the county deal with the Red Bridge as both blight and a hazard.

Grieve noted that the grant process could be halted if a private group came up with the money to renovate the bridge. He said the county might receive notification about the FEMA grant in January 2013, meaning bridge removal might not start until low water in fall 2013.