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The city has not received Gatling's proposal, City Manager Phyllis Lee said Tuesday. She said one is expected to come. “There's no reason to believe Mr. Gatling will not give a proposal to purchase the theater.”
If he doesn't submit one, the city will have several others to look at, Lee said.
The city has received 10 proposals from people on the theater. “We've got so many we started a file on the theater,” she said.
The proposals come in different forms, Lee said. Some are from people who want to manage the venue on a contractual basis while some want to manage the venue as city employees.
They come from people with entertainment experience from as far away as California and Nashville, Tenn., to as nearby as Roanoke Rapids and Rocky Mount.
Some have just sent letters about themselves. “Several are just letters of interest without any actual proposal,” Lee said.
The city considers each letter or proposal legitimate, Lee said. “Some require getting more information. Our point is to share all these with the Theatre Advisory Committee.”
It doesn't appear the city will meet an informal Sept. 15 deadline suggested by Mayor Drewery Beale of getting the reviews done, Lee said. A deadline is something council will have to look at setting, she said. “It's going to take a while to do the work that needs to be done to get to the background.”
Lee said she is encouraged by the interest shown in wanting to run the theater. “I think it says there is still confidence in the project and that we're on track with the entertainment district itself. We've been told what an excellent theater it is and it's a good project, that we expected too much too soon.”
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