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Borough Council Special Meeting Votes: September 2nd, 2010

Sep 02

Borough Council Special Meeting Votes: September 2nd, 2010

Borough Council met for their regularly scheduled working meeting on September 2nd, 2010, but was preceded by a “Special Meeting” which means that Borough Council can vote on issues which affect residents. There was a single vote made to approve the amount of $10,500 to be given to the Media Theatre in order to pay Linn Architects to do design work so that the theater can receive a grant for up to $200,000 for historical repairs. As a side note, Mayor Bob McMahon is on the board of directors of the Media Theatre. Bob Linn (owner of Linn Architects) is also Chairperson of the ICC & Life Safety Appeals Board.

In terms of the conversation about Media Theatre (isn’t it theater, not theatre, right? Apparently not…) the discussion was about the fact that the Media Theatre has “no cash” and they are unable to pay for this money to receive grant money for $200,000 to improve the facade and many other internal improvements. As some residents may know, the Media Theatre was previously owned by Media Real Estate mogul Walter Strine who was one of its greatest benefactors until his death in 2009. The theatre has since been deeded to the Media Borough, and the theatre pays no rent for its use throughout the year. (Actually, I think they pay $1 per year.)

In the special meeting, Peter Williamson and backed by Monica Simpson both indicated that any money given to Media Theatre should be returned to the borough for “in-kind” use. Meaning the Borough can then use the Media Theatre for its own events or for events which benefit the town as a whole. Solicitor Scott was tasked with putting this in the language of the agreement for the funds. This resolution passed unanimously, and would be taken from the General Fund, and was not budgeted.