Dozens of residents, current and former performers, and community leaders urged the Westminster City Council to reverse a decision not to renew the Friends of the Rose Center Theatre’s operating agreement, saying the nonprofit has run the theater for two decades and serves diverse cultural groups and students.

Speakers described the Rose Center as an intergenerational community hub that raises significant earned revenue and supports youth performing-arts education. Don Anderson, president of the Friends of the Rose Center, said the group had operated the theater "for the past 20 years" and highlighted the organization’s work and the consultant study that ranked the Friends among strong operators.

During council business, a motion by a councilmember to keep the Friends operating the theater while the city issues an RFP for a new operator failed on a 2–2 vote. City staff and several councilmembers said they support an open, competitive process and want to adopt updated operator requirements; staff also warned that an RFP and evaluation process would take several months to complete.

Council members who voted against the temporary continuation stressed the need for a fair, open process for all potential operators, while supporters of the Friends urged reconsideration on the basis of continuity and community impact.

What’s next: The city will proceed with the open procurement process and refine operator requirements; Councilmembers asked staff to return with more information about options for preserving theater programming while the RFP proceeds. No new contract award or immediate extension was adopted at the Dec. 10 meeting.