By MADELYN FAIRBANKS
Published Dec. 12, 2012
Galaxy Theatre to stay open after city sells property to developer
MONROE - Economic development manager Jeff Sax announced at last week’s City Council meeting that the sale of the Galaxy Theatre property has finally closed.
The 9.2-acre property was sold to Bothell real estate company Beta-Kelsey Station for $2 million. The sale closed Nov. 30.
The theater is expected to stay open.
The process of the sale, which began in June, was held up for months due to an easement dispute. Years ago, Galaxy Theatre owner Frank Rimkus placed concrete blocks on the property which blocked the passage between the theater parking lot and a neighboring strip mall. Richard Brunhaver of Beta-Kelsey wanted the blocks removed before he would close on the sale.
Sax said the blocks now will be removed and that process is “underway.”
In negotiations between Galaxy and the city earlier this year, Rimkus had said that he would remove the blocks and grant the sale’s necessary easement once the city reimbursed him for an extra $248,000 he spent building up the theater property.
Sax said the city ultimately didn’t agree to pay Rimkus that $248,000.
Before the sale, the city had been in a landlord-tenant relationship with Galaxy. After the sale, the lease will be held by Beta-Kelsey. Galaxy has been and will continue to pay an annual rent of $156,000. The money will now go to Beta-Kelsey.
This is the second major land sale the city recently closed. Earlier in November, five acres at North Kelsey were sold to Providence Health and Services for $2.5 million.
Providence plans to build a $22 million medical facility expected to open in October 2013.
“With this second sale, the city goes into our 2013 fiscal year on the firmest financial footing in over a decade,” city administrator Gene Brazel said. “The taxpayers of Monroe are being well served by the decisions being made by the elected leaders of our city.”
Finance director Dianne Nelson said the $2 million from the sale will initially go into the North Kelsey development fund but will eventually get distributed among city funds.
The council passed a resolution in July to designate the funds from land sales to go to the following: finish funding the city’s reserve policy, be set aside for economic hardships with a three-year cushion, fund a traffic study for the comprehensive plan, go toward the cost of selling the North Kelsey property, and fund the city’s sick leave reserve.
