More financial details needed before council considers forgiving loan to Palace Theatre
The Palace Theatre remains financially ‘solid’ according to its board chair, despite being closed for most of the pandemic, and seeking forgiveness of a loan from City Hall.
“We are solid, we are secure. We have just completed our annual audit and it had a positive outcome,” Chair Kelli Gough tells CTV News.
In 2015, a $100,000 interest-free loan was provided by council to repair the historic theatre after it suffered significant water damage.
Monthly payments are $417, but have been deferred by council since April 2020.
As the theatre begins to reopen after a year and a half of pandemic dormancy, a political push is underway to forgive the remaining $78,750.
Gough says the financial relief would aid reopening, “We have urgent needs (with) the building, it would also potentially enable us to hire some staff to help us because during the COVID (pandemic) we had to dismiss all of our staff.”
At Tuesday’s council meeting, Ward 4’s Jesse Helmer expressed frustration when colleagues suggested getting more information during budget deliberations later this year.
“They’ve been shut for almost two years. they don’t have a lot of money to pay us back, this would really help them. That’s the business case,” asserted Helmer.
Council referred the issue to civic administration for more financial details ahead of an upcoming Strategic Priorities and Policy Committee meeting.
The Palace Theatre was also given another 180-day extension to its loan repayments
“We’re blessed in London to have a really dynamic arts and entertainment sector,” says Councillor Steve Lehman two days later.
Lehman says he was hesitant to forgive the loan without more detailed financial information.
“It’s important for me to see in this case, more financial information than we had at that time,” he says.
Terms of the interest-free loan include the Palace Theatre providing its financial statements to city hall by September 30 each year.
The city treasurer says she has not yet received those documents.
Gough says the documents are expected to be approved at a board meeting this week, and then submitted to city hall.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Doctors say capital gains tax changes will jeopardize their retirement. Is that true?
The Canadian Medical Association asserts the Liberals' proposed changes to capital gains taxation will put doctors' retirement savings in jeopardy, but some financial experts insist incorporated professionals are not as doomed as they say they are.
Something in the water? Canadian family latest to spot elusive 'Loch Ness Monster'
For centuries, people have wondered what, if anything, might be lurking beneath the surface of Loch Ness in Scotland. When Canadian couple Parry Malm and Shannon Wiseman visited the Scottish highlands earlier this month with their two children, they didn’t expect to become part of the mystery.
What do weight loss drugs mean for a diet industry built on eating less and exercising more?
Recent injected drugs like Wegovy and its predecessor, the diabetes medication Ozempic, are reshaping the health and fitness industries.
2 military horses that broke free and ran loose across London are in serious condition
Two military horses that bolted and ran miles through the streets of London after being spooked by construction noise and tossing their riders were in a serious condition and required operations, a British government official said Thursday.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
It's no secret that spring can be a tumultuous time for Canadian weather, and as an unseasonably mild El Nino winter gives way to summer, there's bound to be a few swings in temperature that seem out of the ordinary. From Ontario to the Atlantic, though, this week is about to feel a little erratic.
He replaced Mickey Mantle. Now baseball's oldest living major leaguer is turning 100
The oldest living former major leaguer, Art Schallock turns 100 on Thursday and is being celebrated in the Bay Area and beyond as the milestone approaches.
What a urologist wants you to know about male infertility
When opposite sex couples are trying and failing to get pregnant, the attention often focuses on the woman. That’s not always the case.
Made-in-Newfoundland vodka claims top prize at worldwide competition
A Newfoundland-made vodka has been named one of the world’s best by judges at this year’s World Vodka Awards.