The Libby Park District has dropped its plans to seek a levy to finish work at the swim pond.

The district was going to piggyback on the special purpose district election for school trustees in May, but after those elections didn’t have enough candidates and were cancelled, the cost to be on the ballot would have been borne by parks.

Park District president Jim Germany said at Wednesday’s county commission meeting that and other things, including the flood-damaged diversion channel that takes water from Libby Creek to feed the ponds, was enough to scuttle their plans for 2026.

At the county commissioners Feb. 9 meeting, they approved a resolution to place a special purpose district election on the May 5 ballot, the same day school trustee elections are held.

An approved levy would have pumped about $74,000 into the park district budget that it says will allow it to operate and maintain the swim pond on an annual basis. Officials also said the money would help manage and maintain other recreational facilities and trails within the school district.

The district’s first attempt at building a swim pond in 2025 left little more than a hole in the ground with a heavy liner and muddy water. The tab for that was between $125,000 and $150,000, according to former Park Manager Adam Noble.

Noble no longer works for the county and the Park District is hoping voters in the Libby School District support a property tax increase to finish the work sometime this year.

The Park District currently has a levy that generates $11,500 per year.

The proposed levy was first discussed at the Jan. 6 Libby Park District meeting.

District member Tina Oliphant said another problem at the location was the diversion channel that takes water from Libby Creek to feed the ponds was damaged during the Dec. 11-12 flood.

Swim pond construction last year was in response to area residents continued desire to have a local pool. But a lack of financial resources made a traditional pool undoable.

A number of community members have supported the swim pond effort, including Lincoln County Credit Union, the LOR Foundation and money from the county and park district.

The Lincoln County Port Authority also contributed $7,000 so the rest of the liner could be covered in sand, allowing it to be filled with water.

Dozens of volunteers helped place the 5,000-pound liner in the hole May 31, 2025.

The pool’s dimensions are about 220-feet by 150-feet. It will be five feet depth. Officials said Montana law dictates that water deeper than five feet would require a lifeguard.

Work began nearly a year ago when Libby-based Thompson Contracting began to dig the hole. But after they opted to not finish the work, the board opted to hire Urdahl Contracting of Libby to finish the work. Board members said Thompson didn’t accept payment for the work.

The county road crew has also worked on the project. Officials said county labor may have saved between $30,000 and $50,000.