Roanoke Rapids City Council at its work session Tuesday heard two different proposals on the theater – proffers which City Manager Kelly Traynham described as vastly different.

One of the proposals came from Brown Entertainment, which is made up of Leslie and Dewey Brown, who submitted a previous bid on the building. They own smaller venues in Liberty and Reidsville. Their proposal was one to buy the venue. Their initial bid on the theater had to be rejected in November because of a tax reduction stipulation.

Traynham said the other proposal from Duriel Pittman of Repute Productions was vastly different from the Browns and takes the form of a business partnership with the city instead of an offer to purchase the venue.

Brown proposal

Attorney Keith Whited represented the Browns who are the owners of the Liberty Showcase Theater and the Reidsville Showcase. He explained the couple wants to purchase the Roanoke Rapids Theatre for $1,250,000 which includes a $1,000 due diligence fee and a $49,000 initial earnest money deposit.  

Of that amount, the Browns would finance $1.2 million at 4 percent interest and $12,149.42 paid monthly for 120 consecutive months.

Whited said the Browns were willing to sign at any time. 

“You can look at what they’re doing at substantially smaller theaters than yours,” the attorney said. “It gives them an opportunity to provide the city with an influx of visitors. The city is going to have to have visitors come to enjoy it.”

Whited said that was the original intent behind the venue before the 2008 recession. “No one knew we were going to have a depression in 2008.”

With the proposal, Whited said, the city will realize a net of $260,000 each year plus property tax revenue. “I think they will make it a successful venture. I think they’re going to be as transparent as they can be.”

Repute proposal

Under Pittman’s proposal, Repute recommends the city provide a budget totaling $650,000. “The nightly cost of operation for this venue will be approximately $5,128 per 90-minute event,” the proposal said. “This expense covers the cost of event staffing and production set-up.”

It does not, however, cover the cost of performers. “This amount will be an ongoing expense that will be paid for by the city from the line item. We recommend the city allow a minimum budget of $50,000 per show to cover performance booking.”

Other expenses, the proposal says, will include the cost to purchase souvenir and concession items, permits licensing, office furniture and any required theater updates or maintenance.

Pittman said Repute is only seeking 15 percent of ticket sales. “Parking and alcohol (sales) is yours.”

The organizational structure under the Repute plan would have the council responsible for approval of the partnership with the city manager working closely with the city finance director to ensure the integrity of spending throughout the partnership. The city manager under the proposal would be involved in the hiring of individuals employed by the city to serve as permanent full-time venue staff.

Council responses

Council did question the 4 percent interest rate in the Brown proposal, with Mayor Emery Doughtie commenting that figure “is probably right on the mark for the savings account from what I’ve seen. It’s very obtainable now to get 4 percent on savings.”

However, Doughtie said, “If you look at it like it’s an owner-financed loan, it’s probably a little bit low.”

Councilman Carl Ferebee said of the Repute proposal and the city managing the venue, “That’s not our intent right now — to go back into running and managing the theater.”

Doughtie said, “I've been here for 13 years (as mayor). We have labored under this debt for the theater. There’s been several different ways that individuals have come to us and told us what they could do. It’s just been bad for us. I know the citizens, whatever we do, they want us to rid ourselves of the ownership of this property. They want us to move on. We’re looking to get it on the tax books and try to move forward.”

Councilman Wayne Smith said he was with the mayor and Ferebee on the issue. “I don’t see how we can get into the theater business. It’s been tried in the past and it’s been a lose-lose situation each time we do this. I just hate to have to invest another half-million dollars in something.”