NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The City Council again delayed a decision on putting the Mohawk Theater up for sale by referring the matter on Tuesday to the Community Development Committee. 

 

Mayor Thomas Bernard had made his intention known to solicit requests for proposals for the mothballed theater in January but the council last week balked at the giving him full control over the building's disposition, especially the marquee. 

 

Councilors said they wanted more assurances on any proposal that would secure the long-vacant building's future should the buyer fail in its plans or allow the structure to deteriorate. 

 

"This is a cornerstone of our Main Street, it's a cornerstone of our community," said Councilor Marie T. Harpin, who had advocated for a delay at last week's meeting. "I don't think we should rush into something that we might regret."

 

Councilor Jason LaForest, who has echoed her concerns, also felt there were questions that still were not answered by the mayor's office. 

 

"The council is invested in the long-term future of the Mohawk," he said. "Although many people opted not to speak on the Mohawk Theater, there's more interest ... I have heard from more residents about this issue than any other issue in the last 15 months."

 

More than a dozen people attended Tuesday's council meeting, including a couple who have evinced interest in bidding for the 81-year-old theater, but only a couple spoke. 

 

One of those was state Rep. John Barrett III, the city's former mayor, who arrived armed with a study on the theater done years before. 

 

Barrett said there had been "a clear plan" for the defunct moviehouse when he left office in 2010 and that a great deal of money had been spent on the building. 

 

"I'm not saying these plans should remain, I'm not saying they're the best way to go," he continued but said there had been a consensus in the community about moving forward with the project.

 

Barrett asked the council to refer the issue to committee and for city officials to review the assessment and get more than one appraisal. 

 

The theater's been unused for nearly 30 years. The city took possession of the first of its three parcels in 1993 and the last around 2001. Plans to renovate and add on to the art deco theater to turn it into performing arts center was curtailed by Barrett as costs climbed from less than $3 million to nearly $11 million in 2007. About $2.7 million in state and federal grants have been used on studies and structural issues, with the most work done a decade ago to stabilize and gut the building and upgrade the facade. 

 

Building Inspector William Meranti told councilors that some safety and stability issues had been addressed and it was essentially a mothballed building. But, he said, the roof was reaching the end of its life expectancy or beyond.

 

Barrett objected to that but Meranti responded, "I don't want to argue with you, but you're wrong." The roof was repaired in 1992 and more was done in 2008. 

 

Bernard said at least five studies with different uses and cost potentials have been done since 1998. 

 

"What was never ascertained was the operating model that supports those ... not how do you not only renovate the theater but have an operation in the theater that's supportable, sustainable," he said. "I was involved in some of these projects so I'm not talking about these in the abstract, I'm talking about the work of looking at design studies and renovation costs. ...

 

"I absolutely agree with the premise that the Mohawk can be an anchor for the downtown and for the community and I think the time is right, as I said the last time, to see if there is a private interest prepared to act on that." 

 

Bernard had also provided councilors with a three-page document addressing questions they had submitted last week and said the development of a request for proposals would be rigorous and complex because of the building in question.

 

"Could you commit to some level of council involvement in that process?" asked Councilor Paul Hopkins.

 

The mayor said he would be happy to report on progress but such matters were an administrative function. He declined "to speak to a purchase-and-sales agreement that doesn't exist or to an RFP that hasn't been issued."

 

After nearly an hour of debate, the council moved to refer the matter to Community Development with the caveat a representative of the city solicitor be on hand to guide it on the panel's legal authority. 

 

In a roll call vote, Councilors Wayne Wilkinson, Joshua Moran and Rebbecca Cohen voted against the referral. 

 

In other business, Jason Wood was sworn in as a permanent lieutenant on the police force by City Clerk Deborah Perdercini. Wood has been an acting lieutenant for some time.

 

• The council approved the appointment of Anna Farrington to the Public Arts Commission for a term to expire May 1, 2021. Farrington will complete the term of Julia Dixon, who resigned in January.

 

• The council postponed an application from Keith Minori of North Adams for a license to drive a taxi for RJ's Taxi.

 

• The council postponed to the first meeting in March was a second reading of the ordinance changing the compensation plan for fiscal 2019, which was voted at the meeting of Feb. 19 because it needed a minimum of 10 days between votes. The change provides for a half-percentage in salary for police and sets the minimum wage of $12 for city employees, with the exception of the School Department.