A $47.2 million spending plan for capital improvements over the next five years may be adopted by the Whitefish City Council tonight.

A capital improvement plan is a flexible planning tool government entities use to address facility and infrastructure needs over time.

Whitefish’s proposed capital improvement plan is 53 percent funded, not accounting for any anticipated debt, Whitefish Finance Director Dana Smith advised in a memo to the council.

“Therefore, as presented, the CIP is more of a wish list than a realistic plan,” she said. “However, the CIP does provide the needs and wishes of each department which gives the city the ability to more clearly plan and prioritize projects, based on limited resources and changes in the city’s financial condition.”

Whitefish’s $14 million new City Hall is included in the plan that runs through 2020. The plan also pencils in $10.2 million for street reconstruction, $4.6 million for parks, $2.2 million for fire and ambulance services and $299,000 for the police department.

Other big-ticket expenses in the coming years will be municipal utility systems. Stormwater, sewer and water improvements are estimated in the capital improvement plan at roughly $15.6 million.

Smith said the city has identified 13 other capital projects that will be needed beyond 2020, at a cost of another $11 million. One of the biggest projected expenses beyond 2020 will be $4.5 million to expand the city’s water treatment plant.

Water system improvements figure prominently in the five-year plan from 2016 through 2020.

About $2.1 million will be needed to design and construct a new reservoir south of the railroad tracks, along with $900,000 for a new water main to improve distribution in the south and southwest areas of the city.

Sewer improvements also will be a big expense.

Next year alone the capital improvement plan calls for $5.6 million in improvements, including a $1.5 million upgrade to the wastewater plant, $800,000 for a Cow Creek sewer extension and $743,000 for upgrades related to the U.S. 93 West reconstruction.

The city plans to increase water and sewer rates to pay for the upgrades, but has roughly $4 million in a cash set-aside, according to city documents.

For the stormwater improvements, the city collects impact fees from new development that causes an impact on stormwater facilities. Stormwater assessments could be increased to generate additional revenue to cover the costs, according to the capital improvement plan.

Funding for improvements comes from various sources, depending on the capital project. The new City Hall will be paid for largely with tax-increment revenue, while resort tax revenue will pay for street and park improvements. Some grant money also figures into the funding scheme.

The Whitefish Parks and Recreation expects to spend $600,000 for a new refrigeration plant at the Stumptown Ice Den within the next five years, and anticipates the build-out of improvements in the Depot Park master plan to cost $1.7 million.

The plan’s earmarks for parks and recreation further itemize $450,000 for trail development, $100,000 to pave the parking lot at the Wag Dog Park and $200,000 to overlay the parking lot at Armory Park.

A big expense for the fire department will be $1.25 million to replace a fire truck in 2018.

Smith advised the council that the capital improvement plan could be reworked, should the council “prefer to see a more realistic plan.” But it’s budget season and staff time is limited, she added.

The city staff has recommended the council adopt the plan at tonight’s meeting.

Whitefish’s capital improvement plan will be updated every two years. Updates will be completed before the city’s budget is adopted in order to incorporate the capital improvements from the updated plan in the annual budget.

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

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