Trustees voted Monday to pay $185,000 in operating costs for the Metropolis Performing Arts Centre, which the village acquired in December for $2.1 million.
The money will come from the village’s arts and entertainment fund, which is expected to generate more than $200,000 this fiscal year.
Some council members objected to using the funds, saying the village should wait until April 30, the end of its fiscal year, to use most of the money in the fund to support the theater and performing arts school.
Trustee Mark Toljanic, who voted against the purchase, also opposed funding the theater during Monday’s committee-of-the-whole meeting.
“This was a difficult one for me, having not been in favor of the purchase of the theater,” Toljanic said Tuesday morning. “But the fact is now we have acquired it and we have to do something or risk losing our investment. The difficulty for me is where do we draw the line.”
But Trustee Helen Jensen, who supported the request, said the payment was necessary. “We realized we are going to have to do this,” she said. “We haven’t given them anything else this year, and the money is in this account.”
Toljanic said he is encouraged by the cost measures implemented by Frank Appleby, head of the Finance Committee of Performing Arts at Metropolis, a non-profit group that oversees the theater’s operations. The theater also has hired a development director to focus on fundraising.
In the next year, Appleby said the theater is expected to generate from $115,000 to $241,000 in revenue. The Metropolis School of Performing Arts, a part of the theater, is anticipating up to $790,000 in revenue.The Village Board has final say on the funding decision.
