Whitefish looks at road project priorities

The Whitefish City Council tonight will consider rearranging its priority list for resort-tax-funded road projects to move up the reconstruction of Somers Avenue.

The Resort Tax Monitoring Committee recommended expediting the Somers Avenue reconstruction because it has the greatest infrastructure need of the top four projects on the priority list. 

The street has deteriorated asphalt, and an 80-year-old cast-iron water pipe underneath the street leaks, according to City Manager Chuck Stearns’ report to the council.

West Seventh Street is the next road project in line, to be followed in subsequent years by work on Edgewood Place, Karrow Avenue, State Park Road and Somers Avenue, in that order. If Somers Avenue isn’t bumped up, it wouldn’t get rebuilt until about 2021.

Sixty-five percent of the revenue from Whitefish’s 2 percent resort tax is used to rebuild city streets. East Second Street is being rebuilt this summer.

The council also will vote on a construction contract for the addition of public restrooms to the O’Shaughnessy Center. Meredith Construction has the low bid of $191,500.

The council also will consider an architectural agreement with Mosaic Architects of Helena for the design of a new City Hall and parking structure. The first phase of design is not to exceed $73,650.

Interviews with prospective city committee and board volunteers begin at 5:15 p.m. and run until 7 p.m. at Whitefish City Hall. The council will make appointments to numerous boards and committee.

Among the most critical appointments are vacancies on the Whitefish Planning Board, which has been unable to conduct business due to lack of a quorum. Scott Sorensen and Scott Wurster have expressed interest in serving on the Planning Board and are among the interviewees.

The regular meeting begins at 7:10 p.m. at Whitefish City Hall.