WATERVILLE -- City councilors voted 7-0 Tuesday to approve a 25-year lease with the Waterville Opera House, which is planning a $4 million renovation and expansion of the 106-year-old facility.

Councilors must take two more votes to make the lease final.

The major change in the new and revised lease is that the Opera House will pay for heat, electricity and other utilities, starting three years after the renovation work is complete. The work is expected to start in about 18 months and be completed in less than a year after that.

Opera House officials presented their plans for the project to councilors, with Lisa Hallee, past chairman of the Opera House Board of Directors, detailing the proposed changes.

She said the privately funded work will include making the balcony safer by replacing or refurbishing seats, replacing the floor and projection booth, eliminating lights on poles and building curved walls in the rear of the balcony to improve acoustics.

Wider and safer ways for exiting the balcony will be created and an emergency stairwell will be built

The backstage area and old equipment in it also will be upgraded.

"The backstage is both crowded and unsafe," Hallee said. "It is crowded with three stories of dressing rooms dating back to 1902."

Old rigging and fly systems will be replaced and new electrical, mechanical and lighting systems installed. A freight elevator will be installed that will allow scenery and equipment to be taken directly to the stage level.

New dressing rooms would be built in an addition on the north side of the building to replace tiny and insufficient dressing rooms, according to Hallee.

"They lack any kind of plumbing, and wiring is very old and suspect," she said.

The city will benefit from the improvements because it will own them, Hallee said. The city also will continue to benefit from the year-round programs the Opera House offers that attract thousands of people to the city. The Opera House enhances the city's reputation and offers local citizens access to the performing arts, she said.

Council Chairman Dana W. Sennett, D-Ward 4, asked what impact the work will have on City Hall. Opera House Executive Director Diane Bryan said some work will be done in areas City Hall shares with the Opera House.

"But I don't believe it will shut down operations, at least for an extended period of time," she said.

Architect Scott Teas of TFH Architects of Portland said the plan was developed to have minimal impact on City Hall.

Hallee asked councilors to be mindful of the fact that a very dedicated group of people constructed the building more than 100 years ago and the city was obviously very proud of the facility.

"I just think that it's our privilege now to ensure the future of this facility for our children and our grandchildren and for generations to come," she said.

Councilor Charles "Fred" Stubbert Jr., D-Ward 1, said the cost to build the Opera House and City Hall so long ago was $75,000.

Mayor Paul R. LePage was absent from Tuesday's session. He was traveling to Waterville from Calais and planned to arrive late, but he had not arrived by the time councilors voted on the Opera House lease.

Councilor John O'Donnell, D-Ward 5, asked City Manager Michael Roy if LePage was in agreement that a 25-year lease was appropriate. The current lease is for 20 years and expires in 2012. Roy said LePage was not so much concerned with the length of the lease as he was the Opera House's trying to be as self-sufficient as possible.

"I know he's happy with this," Roy said.

Hallee said the Opera House has operated in the black for the last five years.

In other matters, Sennett thanked Councilor Henry Beck for his dedicated work on the council; Beck was attending his last meeting before taking office as a state representative in House District 76.

Councilors voted 5-2 to approve spending $33,900 for final engineering for construction of a recreational trail from North Street to Head of Falls, with Beck and Councilor Carl Basgall, D-Ward 7, opposing the move.

Beck later explained why he voted against the measure.

"I fully support the trails project for all its economic and health benefits," he said. "I simply would prefer that all abutters are willing sellers before we expend planning funds. I continue to support the project and anticipate success."

Councilors also voted to accept cash donations for development of a trail system at the Quarry Road Recreation Area. Two more votes are needed on that matter.

Amy Calder -- 861-9247

acalder@centralmaine.com