The board of the Meri-Lappi Theater Association has decided that the theater association will not accept the sale of the store unless the city is involved in financing the renovations of the theater space.
Meri-Lapin Teatteriyhdistys cannot continue the operation of the city theater without funding from the city. The board of the association has decided that the theater association will not accept the transfer of business, unless the city is involved in financing the renovation of the theater space.
Converting the so-called bank property into a theater space costs around 440,000 euros. The association does not have the necessary funds for the renovation, and the association’s members cannot commit themselves to a loan guarantee.
Theater operations cannot be financially sustainable without box office revenue.
The renovation will take at least three months. Therefore, it is clear that the spring will be challenging for the association even if the city grants the funding it needs.
The state contributions have already been transferred to the association
Kemi city council decided in May that the operation of the municipal theater will be transferred to the association.
The council required that the change be prepared in accordance with the theater’s service and production model. It is recorded in the model that the theater would have functional performance spaces on the bank’s property on January 1, 2023.
The state shares have also been transferred to the association based on that model.
The transfer of business from the city to the association has not been done yet.
On Wednesday, the Theater Association sent its decision to the decision-makers, i.e. the city board and the chairmen of the council and council groups.
The city no longer intends to continue theater operations
– The operation will probably not continue then, Ruotsalainen states.
The city of Kemi has requested help for the renovation of the theater premises from the parliament’s Christmas gift money and has also asked other municipalities in Meri-Lap to make a similar request.
Kemi’s city government decided at the beginning of November that it will apply for 300,000 euros from the state administration for the Meri-Lap theater association to continue its operations and especially for the construction of facilities.
The Swede hopes that the Christmas gift money requested by the city will be granted, but there are still no guarantees.
According to the mayor, during this year the city of Kemi has given considerable support to the process of transferring theater operations from the city to the theater association.
The Swede emphasizes that the members of the theater association have not been required to provide a personal loan guarantee.
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