The Whitefish City Council will take a tour of the O’Shaughnessy Center at 6 p.m. today to learn more about expansion plans proposed by Whitefish Theatre Co.

The city owns the cultural arts center and Whitefish Theatre Co. leases the building. The theater group will need a conditional-use permit from the city to proceed with remodeling plans.

Whitefish Theatre Co. wants to replace the 15-year-old seats and retractable system in the performance area and remodel the lobby to better accommodate crowds.

Also proposed is a two-story multipurpose room on the south side of the building.

The theater group needs approval from the city before it can proceed with fundraising.

At the regular meeting that begins at 7:10 p.m. at Whitefish City Hall, the council will hold two public hearings.

The first hearing is a proposed amendment to the planned unit development for phase 1B of Great Northern Heights — the subdivision behind Western Building Center — to allow a maximum 50 percent lot coverage on several townhome lots.

The Planning Board earlier approved the amendment but placed a condition on the proposal, stating that two-story buildings would be limited to the standard 35 percent lot coverage maximum.

Another condition calls for the applicant to update the approved drainage plan and work with a neighbor to the south of the lots to address an ongoing drainage issue.

Rob Pero and Scott Gearhart are the applicants for the Great Northern Heights amendment.

The second public hearing is a conditional-use permit request from Jackola Engineering on behalf of the Whitefish School District for reconstruction of the high school in the one-family residential district at 1143 East Fourth St.

The Planning Board earlier unanimously recommended approval of the permit.

Voters earlier this year approved a $14 million bond issue for the $19 million rebuild of Whitefish High School that will create a 122,754-square-foot school.

The council will consider a one-year lease agreement with Montana Ski Co. for the space on the east side of the city-owned Coldwell Banker Building at 105 Baker Ave. A lease of $700 per month would bring in $8,400 and relieve the city of the approximate $2,600 annual utility bill for the building, City Manager Chuck Stearns said in his council report.

The city received only one bid for its wayfinding sign project.

Epcon Sign Group of Billings bid $260,130 for the sign work that the city estimated would cost $190,000.

Stearns said the council has three options:

It can award the contract to Epcon even though the bid is considerably higher than the city’s estimate; it can reject the bid and ask staff to rebid it after revising specifications; or the council could direct Stearns to work with Epcon to negotiate a change order from the original bid.

Last on the agenda, the council will vote on a resolution to authorize the city’s participation in a state loan program to borrow up to $140,000 for upgrades to the Stumptown Ice Den. Among the proposed improvements are a new cooling system and replacement of light fixtures.

Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by email at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com.