In the fall of 2015 the Village worked with the reconstituted Metropolis Theater Board and Staff to develop a more sustainable funding arrangement.  In addition to the annual Operating Contribution to Metropolis, the Village established a Restricted Contribution account to be used by the Theater to augment its cash flow, within the Village’s control, in the event of extraordinary revenue declines or operational costs.  On an annual basis the Village allocates a little over $50,000 to this account, and as of December 31, 2017 the account balance will be $119,500.

In August 2017 Village Manager Randy Recklaus received the attached request for restricted funds from Metropolis Executive Director Joe Keefe.  As outlined in his request, Mr. Keefe is asking that restricted funds be authorized by the Village to reimburse Metropolis for $49,000 in extraordinary expenses.  Metropolis incurred $5,240 for its share of the new glass security doors on the second floor, and the balance of the request, or $43,760, is due to extraordinary HVAC repairs that occurred in 2016 and 2017.  The Village owns the HVAC system and would be responsible for its replacement, but Metropolis is responsible for normal maintenance expenses.  The Theater’s recent high HVAC maintenance costs follows similar HVAC repair costs that the Metropolis Commercial Condominium Association experienced for its common area HVAC units.  The Theater’s HVAC contractor has indicated that these more recent extraordinary repairs were due primarily to deferred maintenance in prior years.  However, they said that Metropolis’ HVAC system is now in good condition, and that with the exception of some replacement parts, the units should last an additional six to ten years.

The Village Manager and Finance Director have reviewed this request and concur that the reimbursement of these extraordinary expenses appears to be warranted.