Heritage Theater seeks county match, city weighs $1 million renovation request; library plans director handoff

Jason Clark, manager of the Heritage Theater/Festival Hall, asked the Cedar City Council to include $50,000 in the city budget as a cash contribution his office will use to invite Iron County to match funds for capital upgrades to the Festival Hall. Clark said the money would be used for draperies, replacement of worn steps and countertops and other building care. He said he was confident a county match would be forthcoming if the city brought “cash in hand.”

Clark also said the theater is proposing a staged capital program that would include asking the council for $1 million this year and in each of the next two years to pay for a major renovation beginning in January 2028. He said the mayor’s proposed budget currently includes $1 million and that the city funded a $500,000 planning allocation the prior year; the council should decide whether to retain the mayor’s proposal as the consultant study proceeds.

Library Director Steve Decker told the council his operating budget was “pretty vanilla” for the coming year and said he would retire Aug. 16; he asked that the council fund two weeks overlap so the new director could start Aug. 1 and be brought up to speed. Decker said he had proposed only a modest increase in book purchases and noted that the library’s utilities lines have run materially higher than the budgeted amount the last two years: actual utilities have been roughly $52,000 while the budgeted amount was about $40,000.

Council members and staff discussed which budget pages reflect the Theater/Library capital ask. Clark noted the Festival Hall capital improvements are shown on the city’s capital improvements pages; he told council members that his office retains operating revenue and pays custodial and staffing costs while the county owns the building and has in the past helped fund major capital work.

The council pressed Clark on timing to approach the county for a match and on project priorities; Clark said safety items would come first and aesthetics later. Council members also asked Decker about the timing of his retirement and about the library’s part‑time staffing; several members urged increasing book funding modestly to match rising prices. Decker said he had retained consultants for the theater project and expects a consultant visit and detailed cost estimates as the next step.

The presentations left several budget questions to staff (timing for county match, whether the mayor’s $1 million remains in the proposed budget), and council members signaled interest in keeping the theater planning allocation while seeking more precise cost estimates from the consultant team.