The proposal placed before the council calls for the city to invest $750,000 over seven years to help maintain and renovate the 90-year-old theater and for the Collinsville Area Recreation District to staff and supervise it. Collinsville's contribution includes annual $100,000 payments to the park district that would be used for tax increment financing-eligible activities determined by the city to help repair and restore the building at 204 W. Main St. The city would have an option to renew the pact for another five years and also would have first right of refusal if the park district were to pull out.
City Manager Bob Knabel supports the plan and said it provides a great opportunity and would be an undertaking unlike any the city has taken on.
"We are fortunate with (the Collinsville Area Recreation District) stepping forward and saying this is a priority of theirs," Knabel said.
Park district director Mark Badasch said renovating a historical landmark like the theater would bring people downtown who aren't there now.
"The return on investment is not in dollars and cents, but a return of investment to the community," Badasch said.
Council members Liz Dalton and Nancy Moss said they were concerned about the proposed expense.
"I'd like to see the project go forward, but I'm just concerned about the sum of money tied into it," Dalton said. "That's my biggest concern."
"It's a treasure, I want to see it preserved, but I have some serious questions," Moss said.
Council member Lisa Ciampoli said she wasn't comfortable with the time frame.
"I'm not willing to commit to seven years," Ciampoli said.
The council discussed reconfiguring the proposal to include a five-year time frame with a five-year option to renew. They agreed to revisit the issue at a meeting scheduled for May 27.
The council also reviewed a community survey. Assistant city manager Pam Hylton said surveys were mailed in November to 1,200 households, and 412 were returned.
The results indicated that residents polled are most concerned about quality of life in the city's neighborhoods, communication of the community's perception and training of city employees.
Knabel said the city needs to visit residents and address their concerns.
"We want to be the preferred place to live," he said. "We want Collinsville to have a high quality of life."
Contact reporter Will Buss at wbuss@bnd.com or 345-7822, ext. 24.
