Town terminates Village Cinema lease

The town of Coulee Dam is terminating its lease of the Village Cinema to the proprietor who has spent over a year coming up with new ways to breathe life into the shell that had been vacant for over a decade.

Larry Hernandez posted on the theater’s Facebook last week that he’s been ignored since August when he proposed mediation to come to an agreement about his rent going forward and that he waited for 10 months for the city to propose new language in the lease after the town council wanted to have the city attorney clarify it.

“This building was basically abandoned before I took it on,” he posted Nov. 6. “I restored it, reopened it for the community, and brought it back to life. And now, after all that work, they are trying to take it away.”

Hernandez says he has put $24,000 into the effort and wants that used as credit against a rent of $750 a month. When he proposed that in August, the city council told him they were holding him to the contract in hand, which he says he never agreed to. “Instead, they are forcing a $1,500 per month lease on me starting on Aug.1 2024 and adding another $7,000 in charges for July through October 2025, bringing the total to more than $31,000 for just 14 months,” he wrote.

On the Village Cinema Facebook page he lists nearly 70 movie screenings since October 2024, including free kids’ movies, and another half dozen cultural events the facility has hosted.

The town council meets tonight (Wednesday, Nov. 12) at 6 p.m., and the lease is on the agenda under a “Public Input” section.

“If you support what Village Cinema stands for and the work I’ve done to keep it alive, please come to the Town Meeting at City Hall on November 12 at 6 PM,” Hernandez wrote in his post.