The Whitefish City Council tonight will take the first step toward building a gazebo in Depot Park when it considers approving a $34,900 contract with Robert Peccia and Associates to design and oversee construction of the structure.

A significant element of the Depot Park master plan is a gazebo for the southeastern portion of the heavily used city park.

The Whitefish Park Board wants to move forward with the project, even though the council recently decided to shift some Depot Park development money to the City Hall/parking structure project that is over budget.

The city has decreased its original $480,802 appropriation in the current fiscal-year budget to $224,792, which includes a $10,000 grant from Whitefish Rotary.

The gazebo design and construction is estimated to cost $161,700, but adding $74,116 for the master plan revision and implementation brings the total to $235,816.

That’s about $11,000 more than the current allocation for Depot Park, but there is a contingency remaining in the tax-increment fund that could make up the difference, according to City Manager Chuck Stearns’ council report.

Peccia’s scope of work would include the design, bidding and construction of the gazebo. The structure would be a 30-foot elevated, handicap-accessible facility with electrical outlets and lighting.

In other business, the council will consider The Lodge at Whitefish Lake’s request for a conditional-use permit to operate a bar in the pool and grill area at the lodge’s expanded Viking Creek facilities on the east side of Wisconsin Avenue. The bar is intended for hotel guests and will not cater to the public, according the Averill Family Limited Partnership that owns the expansive lodge facilities.

The council will decide whether to award a contract for up to $50,000 for the Wisconsin Avenue corridor plan to Applied Communications, a firm that includes professional planners Kathleen McMahon and Robert Horne.

Applied Communications was the only firm to submit a request for proposal. Money for the corridor study is included in the current fiscal budget and will be paid with tax-increment finance district revenue.

The council meets at 7:10 p.m. at the interim City Hall, 1005 Baker Ave.

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