Queens Council Extends Astor Lease – Council Recap

The Astor Theatre has secured its place in the community for another 5 years.

Region of Queens council voted Tuesday to extend a new lease to the Astor Theatre Society.

The theatre has been closed since March and doesn’t expect to open until September at the earliest.

Because the society has no way to earn any money from the Astor whilst it is shut down, council decided to only charge the society $3,000 or half the annual rent for the first year of the lease.

The rent will return to the normal $6,000 annual rate beginning May 1, 2021.

The new lease will also see the municipality pick up the tab for the property tax on the theatre.

The Astor Theatre Society also won’t pay rent on the space left vacant by the departure of the Sipuke’l Gallery until October 2021 as they finalize how best to make use of the additional square footage.

That lease is also worth $6,000 annually.

Council also agreed to enter into a three-year cost-sharing agreement with the province for subdivision roads.

The agreement allows the municipality to work with its provincial counterparts when dealing with roadwork without committing to any specific projects.

Any work to be done would still have to be approved by regional council before any municipal money is spent.

Council also reviewed three options submitted by the RCMP to improve road safety on Old Falls Road.

Those included converting the road to a dead end or cul de sac to prevent through traffic onto Highway 3, installing a sign directing drivers not to use the road to access the Highway or converting Old Falls Road to a one-way street, eliminating the flow of traffic towards Highway 8.

Staff will now work on a report to determine feasibility before bringing it back to council in the future.

Reported by Ed Halverson 
E-mail: edhalversonnews@gmail.com
Twitter: @edwardhalverson