Council to consider revised cinemas repayment
When the Yuma City Council meets this week, it will be asked to authorize a new repayment schedule for the Community Development Block Grant that helped fund the construction and development of Main Street Cinemas.
In 1997, the council approved a CDBG-funded loan of $250,000 for the project, calling for a 10-year repayment schedule. For the first five years, Q&M Entertainment LLC, which now owns the theater, had been making interest-only payments and in 2004 made its first payment on the principal in compliance with the loan agreement.
Subsequently, the city has been advised that business at the theater had declined and Q&M made no payments from 2005 to 2010. A year ago, the city filed a suit against Q&M, and has been discussions about repayment options, specifically whether the borrower could be allowed to make lower payments interest free.
The proposed new repayment schedule would enable the city to recover the CDBG funds and keep Main Street Cinemas open and its employees working. The theater employs approximately 22 employees. Q&M members include the Quechan Indian Tribe and Blue Diamond Entertainment LLC, whose members are Dennis and Cassandra Metz.
The council meeting is at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday in the council chambers at Yuma City Hall, One City Plaza.
In other business, the council will again consider a grant award of $1 million from the U.S. District Justice Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) Hiring Program to help fund eight new police officer positions to be hired over a two-year cycle. Action on the grant had been postponed from the previous council meeting.
The local share would be $751,384. The city also would be required to budget for the new police officer positions for at least one year after the grant period.
Another item before the council is an intergovernmental agreement with Yuma Union High School District for the 2012-13 School Safety Program. Yuma Police Department will assign four full-time School Resource officers for the school year to be at Yuma, Kofa, Cibola and Gila Ridge high schools. YUHSD will provide $265,491 to fund the program.
In addition to Wednesday's meeting, the council will hold a work session at 5 p.m. Tuesday in the council chambers.
Sue Reynolds, Yuma County elections director, will make a presentation regarding the use of voter centers for the Nov. 6 general election.
The voter centers have been used twice: for the February presidential primary and for the Aug. 28 primary election. With voter centers, voters can go to any one of the centers regardless of their precinct to cast their ballots.
Complete agendas for both meetings are available on the city's website at yumaaz.gov. City council meetings and work sessions are broadcast live on Time Warner Channel 73.
