Residents wanting to see what the Park Theatre would look like after renovation have only 10 days to wait. A grand showing of the plans will be presented at McMinnville Civic Center on Oct. 15.
“I want people to know what they will be voting on in November,” said McMinnville Mayor Norman Rone. “I want people to actually see what Park Theatre will look like once complete.”
On display will be architectural drawings made from the plans generated up to this point. In attendance to answer questions will be the architects on the project, Rone and other city board members, and Park Theatre Committee members who were assigned by Rone to work with the architects.
Officials voted in July to send the future of Park Theatre into the hands of city voters in the form of a referendum. On the ballot Nov. 6 will be this question: “Shall the city of McMinnville issue general obligation bonds not to exceed Two Million Dollars ($2,000,000) for the renovation of Park Theatre ...”
What residents will be voting on is the funding mechanism that officials use to pay for the project. Preliminary estimates place the cost of renovation at $2 million. Officials want to use 20-year bonds for the project which means debt service will be approximately $123,000 annually with a total debt service repayment of almost $2.5 million.
If the referendum fails, officials can either call for another referendum at a later date or use 12-year capital outlay notes with a higher debt service repayment of approximately $200,000 each year.
If the referendum passes, officials must still bid the project and secure funding. Actual work may not begin until 2013.
The grand showing will be offered from 6-8 p.m.
Residents can get glimpse of Park Theatre renovation plans
