City of Monterey approves Osio lease; adopts Villa del Monte Neighborhood plan

By the end of the month, cinema lovers in Monterey will have another venue to lean back, break out the popcorn and candy watch movies.

It wasn't unexpected, but at Monterey's city council meeting on Tuesday, the terms of the Osio Cinemas lease were worked out in a closed session after the first part of the city council meeting. All that's left to make the agreement final, according to Assistant Manager Hans Uslar, are the needed signatures.

“I'm so pleased we're going to see that back in operation again,” said coucil woman Libby Downey, about news of the Osio's return to Monterey. And in the case of the Osio Cinemas, patrons will even be able to buy a glass of wine to accompany their film-watching venture because that too will be among the Osio's refreshment offerings.

Before the city approved the lease agreement, Mayor Roberson bestowed a proclamation to 17-year-old Sydney Martindale, who found the missing head of the decapitated Junipero Serra statue when she was exploring tide pools in Breakwater Cove last month.

“It was really a lucky find,” said Martindale as she accepted the proclamation. “The tide was just right.”

It was also fortunate that Martindale's grandmother was the head docent at the Carmel Mission and recognized what Martindale said “looked pretty much like a rock made of granite” after Martindale discovered it and decided to lug it up a hill to show her family.

Also on Tuesday, the city council adopted the Villa del Monte Neighborhood Revitalization Plan with residents praising the progress and teamwork that led to its approval bu council members.

“It will give our neighborhood an identity, which is sorely needed,” said resident Karla Blossom.

The council also heard from residents about the proposed neighborhood improvement plan involving Ferrante (ball) park with some residents speaking in favor of keeping the park. That's a discussion to be continued at future council meetings.

Wrapping up the meeting was a presentation by Tammy Blount of the Monterey County Convention and Visitors Bureau who noted positive trends for the city's hotel tax and return on investment. She also said that the economic impact from groups booked in the city has grown by nearly 200 percent in the past year.

Osio Cinemas' new owner signs sublease

A sublease agreement between the Osio Cinemas' new owner, Le Prince Cinemas, and the building’s property manager, MCM Diversified was signed last week.

Now, all that's left before area movie goers can have their indie film desires quenched is for the Monterey City Council to actually approve the lease at their April 19 meeting. The Osio Building is owned by the City.

City officials say they don't foresee any problems with its approval because the use of the building is consistent with what is there.

As long as everything is fine and approved, the city will prepare a consent to sublease form and then will sign it along with the sublease tenant and ownership of building,” explained Monterey’s Housing/Property Manager Rick Marvin earlier this month. Marvin went so far as to predict a May 1 opening.

It was back in July that the independent theater closed abruptly with its previous owner filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy with debts of more than $382,000. The case was resolved in late November.

But soon after its closure, three theater employees – Shanneen Kirkpatrick, Brandi Lamb and Jirko Senkel (now incorporated as Le Prince Cinemas)– started an online fundraiser on Kickstarter to reopen the theater. Their campaign raised $76,000. But still, the theater sat vacant, which left many to wonder what was going on behind the scenes.

Now, plans for the theater's renovations seem on track. Those plans include having new carpet installed, fixing the outdoor marquee and cleaning and repairing the seats. The acquisition of a beer and wine license is also on tap.