County commissioners to hear proposal to purchase movie theater

A chairman's eye view of those in attendance at the Jan. 14 meeting of the Douglas County Parks & Recreation Advisory Board on CV Cinemas. Photo by Gary Dove

A chairman's eye view of those in attendance at the Jan. 14 meeting of the Douglas County Parks & Recreation Advisory Board on CV Cinemas. Photo by Gary Dove

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A $2.9 million proposal to purchase Carson Valley Cinemas will be making the rounds this week, with members of the Douglas County Parks & Recreation Advisory Board scheduled to hear an update 6 p.m. Tuesday.

Minden Town Board members will be the first board outside of Parks & Recreation to discuss the proposal at their 5:30 p.m. Wednesday.

Town Board Chairman Larry Walsh was one of those in attendance at the Jan. 14 meeting where recreation advisors voted to move forward with the project.

Commissioners are scheduled to discuss the proposal on Thursday. Commission Chairwoman Sharla Hale and Commissioner Nate Tolbert both attended the Jan. 14 session. Commissioners meet starting 10 a.m. in the historic Douglas County Courthouse, but the item is at the bottom of the agenda.

“This meeting is for us to introduce the proposal to the Board of County Commissioners and seek approval to negotiate the purchase,” Community Services Director Brook Adie said on Saturday.

Adie said there have been discussions with the current theater operator to determine what it would take for the county to lease the theater for the four months, assuming commissioners agree to move forward.

Community Services is in the process of obtaining a formal appraisal consistent with state law.

The project would then be presented as part of the county budget process for the purchase from $5.28 million in room tax reserves.

The ending fund balance June 30, 2024 was $9.37 million or which $4 million will be spent this fiscal year.

“We would not have access to the funds until July,” Adie said. “It would go through the budget process.”

Commissioners are scheduled to go through three days of preliminary budget hearings at the end of March.

In preparation for those hearings, Adie said the department will have to find out what it will cost to operate the building and develop a capital improvement plan before going forward.

Should everything align and the county purchase the cinemas, Adie said they would be looking for an architect to look at the property and begin talking about design work.

“At that point we would engage with the public and talk about what they would like to see,” she said.

Carson Valley Arts Council President Brian FitzGerald said the organization has been pursuing some sort of venue for its entire 20 years.

Since 2008, that has been presumed to be the Copeland located on the other side of Minden but that the arts council is prepared to pivot to the cinemas.

“We have had a vision for a mid-sized, fixed-seat venue in our community for some time,” he said. “This facility checks a lot of boxes for the future, and we’re prepared to move forward as an operator.”

He said the Copeland is a cultural asset the arts council owns.

“We intend to tap into the equity in that facility,” he said. “I can’t really say what the ultimate future of the Copeland will be.”

He said the 17,000 square foot space could be used as some sort of maker’s space.

“We have a successful woodturners group that needs a home,” he said. “We could have glass blowers, or ceramics. We’re focusing on the bit picture by making this a priority for the Arts Council.”