Russellville council authorizes lease with Playhouse despite fundraising uncertainty

Russellville City officials on Oct. 7 approved a resolution authorizing the mayor, city clerk and treasurer to sign a lease with the Russville Playhouse for a property on South Boulder.

During discussion, a council member asked about the Playhouse’s fundraising progress. Mr. Piston, speaking for the Playhouse, said: "Not sure I'm clear on the question. We don't have a contract yet, so we can't start fundraising on the buildings. We have plans, but we don't feel comfortable trying to fundraise for a building we don't have yet." That response was made when council members pressed for clarity on financing before authorizing the lease.

Council members then conducted a roll-call vote. The transcript records these individual votes: Mr. Keller — yes; Mr. Gray — yes; Mr. Bradley — yes; Mr. Olsen — no; Miss Young — yes; Miss Wetszel — no; Mr. George — yes. The presiding officer stated the final tally as 5–3 in favor, after which the resolution was adopted. The transcript did not record explicit votes for every member by name in the roll call sequence; the motion’s mover and seconder were not identified in the meeting text.

The recorded discussion indicates the Playhouse is not yet under contract and therefore has not begun fundraising; council members proceeded to authorize city officials to execute a lease instrument despite that uncertainty. No conditional amendment requiring a funding plan or a signed contract before execution was recorded in the meeting discussion. The meeting then moved to adjournment.