Leesburg city commissioners agreed to a controversial lease of the Tropic Theater over the objections of Commissioner Jay Connell during Monday night’s commission meeting.
The agreement calls for a lump sum payment of $150,000 for the lease which would run for 50 years.
Connell told his fellow commissioners that this lease is a “horrible financial deal for the city” as the city had just purchased the Tropic Theater building for $2.4 million. The Melon Patch Players group would be paying what would amount to $3,000 per year for 50 years and the city would be responsible for the upkeep of the building. Connell said he could not support such a bad deal for the city.
City staff had recommended approval of the lease. City Manager Al Minner pointed out that both the Downtown Master Plan and the commission’s stated objectives call for increasing the vitality of the downtown and that the relocation of the Melon Patch Theater would aid that objective. Commissioner Alan Reisman did not disagree with Connell on the costs of the lease but said, “This was part of the master plan for downtown and will be a real asset to our downtown and will be a great thing for our city.”
The commission approved the lease on a 4-to-1 vote with commissioner Connell voting no.