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Community pushes city for faster lease talks with Black Repertory Theater
Summary
Speakers representing the Black Repertory Theater told the Berkeley City Council the company is being treated unfairly and urged faster lease talks; Deputy City Manager Latonya Bello said the city sent a draft lease to the group on Oct. 4 and proposed an Oct. 30 meeting to finalize terms.
Members and supporters of the Black Repertory Theater pressed the council to accelerate lease negotiations they said have dragged on for months. Sean Ron Scott, a long-time Black Rep advocate, told the council he wanted the city to “roll up our sleeves” and resolve terms sooner than the Oct. 30 meeting staff proposed.
“We need to just hurry up and get this job done,” Scott said, urging immediate action and calling for an in-person meeting sooner than the date offered. Several other speakers described the theater as a community anchor serving workforce development and youth programs and said disparate treatment compared with other local theaters threatened those services.
Deputy City Manager Latonya Bello provided a staff update, saying the city sent a lease agreement to Michael Trujillo (the Black Rep’s attorney) on Oct. 4 and that staff was proposing Oct. 30 for a face-to-face negotiation. “We were able to make connection with Sean and Sean, you and I have talked a couple times,” Bello said, adding the city was hopeful the parties could finalize an agreement.
Council members expressed shared concern about the Black Rep’s future and said they wanted the city manager’s office to prioritize the negotiations. The council did not take formal action at the meeting beyond the staff update; the city manager pledged to confirm land-ownership questions and to follow up on the proposed meeting date.
