Board approves lease termination and short-term management agreement for Playhouse

Diana presented two documents for board approval: a lease termination agreement with Playhouse Lab LLC and a management services agreement that keeps the current operator running the Playhouse until a new operator is selected via an RFP.

Diana explained the termination and management agreement were negotiated to secure a fully intact theater for the community without pursuing a bankruptcy process. She told the board that under the original lease the tenant retained certain trade fixtures (theater seats, projection equipment and screen) as tenant property; the negotiated termination avoids a longer, more complex process to obtain those items and aims to deliver a functioning theater to a new operator.

Counsel Doug Lamonte explained that the tenant-owned trade fixtures were excluded from town collateral except that under lease termination or default the town would have been entitled to those items only upon paying their depreciated value; the current agreement avoids town payment for depreciated seat value by settling via the termination agreement. Diana said the town has procured a management services agreement so the theater will continue to operate while the town solicits new operators (bids due Jan. 7). She said the town will provide a 30-day notice to the incumbent operator as required under the management services arrangement once the RFP process concludes.

Board members moved, seconded and approved both documents by voice vote; no opposition was recorded in the transcript. Diana noted the RFP timeline and said town staff and council members (including Jen Zonis) will help review bids.