Libby City Council agreed March 15 to waive the Ponderosa Room fee for Kootenai Pets For Life’s (KPFL) mid-April rummage sale.

“I know we’ve done this in the past a number of times and it is a worthwhile event,” said Mayor Brent Teske before city council voted unanimously to drop the fee.

The nonprofit shelter plans to hold its annual rummage sale in the City Hall-adjacent space April 16-17. Organization member Eileen Carney, who asked city officials to waive the cost on behalf of KPFL, said the event is a major fundraiser for the group.

“We are asking you waive the fee based on the idea that we would use that money to continue our spay and neuter program and aid the City of Libby by reducing the number of animals on the streets,” she said.

In a letter distributed to city councilors before the meeting, Carney wrote that 43 volunteers put in a combined 7,836 hours of work at the no kill shelter. All animals are spayed or neutered before adoption, and the shelter offers low-cost operations to pet owners otherwise unable to afford the procedures.

Carney also noted that the COVID-19 pandemic had forced the cancellation of the organization’s other major fundraiser, the Bow Wow Bash, last year. Although the shelter receives donations from supporters and receives a grant from a group in Havre, the loss of the bash put a crimp on finances, she wrote.

“We are very grateful for the support we have received in the past from the city council,” Carney wrote. “We have done a lot to take care of the problem of keeping unwanted animals off of the streets and will continue, with your help, to keep the numbers down.”