By: Nathan Bloechl — nathanb@977thebolt.com
Humboldt, Iowa — The City of Humboldt held a Humota Theater meeting last week to provide clarity on what needs to happen in order to continue operations at the theater.
Earlier this summers R.L. Fridley, the owner of the theater, issued a statement that many in Humboldt found grim: the theater would close September 1st, if they could not find a succession plan.
Fridley Theatres has hopes to donate the Humota property, as they have successfully done in many other Iowa communities, and transition the business to a local group in order to continue operations.
Residents of the City of Humboldt poured into Humboldt City Hall for the meeting last week, hoping that it not only stays open for them — but for their kids as well.
The city explained at the meeting that the transition would include donation of the building and a heavily discounted price for the equipment inside — which would still be relatively expensive.
There are some capital improvements that will be required to maintain the building such as replacing the roof and HVAC system that would require a capital campaign to fund those projects.
There was talks of starting a 501(c)(3) group to be able to pull in donations.
The Fridley group, according to officials, did say that if there is a succession plan in place, regardless of other action, doors will remain open on September 1st.
Meetings on the matter should ramp up over the next month or so, with just over a month’s time in between now and the proposed closure.