Improvements to the viaduct in Whitefish over the BNSF Railway tracks have long been identified as a way to improve the link between the north side of Whitefish and downtown.  

On Monday, City Council will consider approving a contract with Razz Construction for about $874,000 that will begin work on the project. Council meets at 7:10 p.m. at City Hall, 418 E. Second St. 

The project had been budgeted at $700,000 in the city’s street fund. Public Works Director Craig Workman in a memo to Council wrote that the roughly $250,000 overage comes from engineering costs and city-provided streetlights. The street fund has a reserve balance and can absorb the difference, he notes.  

The project includes improving the bike and pedestrian lanes on either side of the viaduct, installation of decorative streetlights and landscaping components.  

The city has been working for more than three years with its engineer WGM Group on the viaduct improvement project. It was bid last summer, but the only bid received was more than double the estimate for the project and thus rejected.  

DURING THE meeting, Council will also consider a request for a conditional use permit to operate a bar in an under-construction hotel building on the corner of East First Street and Lupfer Avenue. Block 26 Partners, which are constructing The Larch House, are asking for the permit to allow for a full bar for the property zoned as WB-3. 

Restaurants are permitted in the zone, but the hotel is now planned to operate with an all-beverage license which requires the permit from the city. The restaurant/bar will include a bar and seating in the main lobby area on the first floor, private dining and a speakeasy in the lower level, as well as outdoor dining in the patio terrace between buildings.  

Council is set to consider adoption of the Western Montana Region Hazard Mitigation Plan, which is a product of a regional planning process coordinated by Montana Disaster and Emergency Services from 2022 to 2024 to develop regional hazard mitigation plans covering the entire state. 

The purpose of hazard mitigation, the plan notes, is to reduce or eliminate long-term risk to people and property from disaster or hazard events. The plan is intended to serve as a blueprint for coordinating and implementing hazard mitigation policies, programs and projects.  

It was also developed to maintain the participating jurisdictions’ eligibility for federal disaster assistance.  

During a work session at 6 p.m., Council will review fire mitigation efforts with representatives of the Whitefish Fire Department and the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation. 

Deputy Editor Heidi Desch may be reached at 758-4421 or [email protected].