Nichols Brothers Boat Builders will meet with neighbors tonight to outline the company’s plans for the future.

The public meeting will be from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Thursday, March 11, at Freeland Hall, Freeland Avenue and Shoreview Drive.

The company says it has no plans to expand beyond current boundaries, but would rearrange its facilities to be more efficient. The boatyard also proposes to lengthen the workday three hours to accommodate two shifts.

The new 17-hour workday would be from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. Monday through Saturday. The current workday is 13 hours, six days per week.

Company officials said that “quiet” hours would be observed, during which the louder aspects of boatbuilding would be kept to a minimum.

Thursday’s meeting is a step in the process for the firm to obtain a “consolidation permit” from Island County.

The permit would allow the company to move forward with projects within the permit’s parameters without obtaining individual permission for each step. Currently, the company is required to seek individual permits from one or more of as many as 15 local, state and federal categories if it wants to make a change.

For information about Thursday’s meeting, contact Barb Jaksa, Nichols Brothers plan coordinator, at 331-5500, ext. 271 or e-mail bjaksa@nichols

boats.com.