Hogansville council approves four priority upgrades at Royal Theater, declines costly LED wall for now

The City of Hogansville approved four priority upgrades for the Royal Theater during its Oct. 20 work session, allocating roughly $31,000 from remaining EDA construction funds to address safety and operations needs. Mayor Jake Ayers called the meeting to order at 6:10 p.m., and the council recorded the decision during the work session.

The council prioritized safety railings, a communication system, a green-room kitchenette and additional display cases. Cost estimates reported at the meeting were $6,712 for approximately 90 feet of safety railings; $6,999 for an 8-channel wireless communications system (compared with other bids of $7,500 and $11,400); $5,200 to create a kitchenette by removing a non-load-bearing header and installing cabinetry and electrical; and $7,824 for two additional display cases. Those four items total roughly $31,000, leaving about $4,000 in the EDA construction fund.

Council members discussed a fifth possible upgrade—an LED wall sized at 9 feet by 22 feet that would be “dead hung” to allow performers to cross behind it—but quotes for that screen were cited as high as $58,000. Given the limited EDA funds, council declined to commit to the LED wall at this time and discussed using the city equipment fund and seeking sponsorships or donations as reimbursement paths before pursuing the purchase.

City staff also indicated other noncritical upgrades such as a projector would be deferred. The council’s approval of the four priority items was recorded as the work-session decision; no formal roll-call vote or mover/second was included in the minutes provided.