By MATT PIKE
St. Joseph Post
St. Joseph City Councilmembers will be reviewing the fees the city charges to the tenants of the Missouri Theatre complex.
A special committee of the council suggests phasing in a different rent structure that would leave two of the larger spaces for the Symphony and Allied Arts.
Councilmember-at-Large Jeff Schomburg isn't sure that the arts district is being used as effectively as it should be.
"The Allied Arts and the different performing arts and the Missouri Theatre they do rent out some of those spaces down there," Schomburg tells KFEQ Hotline host Barry Birr. "But we do have some spaces that I think are being utilized but not managed right."
A committee assessment of the situation suggests the city is losing more than $100,000 in potential rent and an additional $30,000 in potential sales tax revenue if rented out as retail space.
Schomburg says the city was losing money due to the old structure charging $25 rent plus utilities.
"Now if we charge rent for 700, pay their utilities, we've got about maybe roughly four of five hundred dollars in there that we can put that money towards maintenance to upkeep those buildings," Schomburg says. "Because obviously you may have a pipe break or flooring needs to be redone and all that so that money can be reinvested back into that."
The city council will hold a work session on Monday to hear input on the assessment and the plan for the new rental structure.
Schomburg says input from the public and tenants will be highly encouraged during the work session.
"You've got to have input, I mean if you just try to make a decision on your own it's probably not going to be the right decision," Schomburg explains. "So, you've got to be a listener, you've got to be a good listener, and listen to what they're saying and then come up with the best solution for that problem or situation."
Schomburg says there is no timeline currently for when the project could be enacted.