Lompoc Record
Jul 25, 2016, by Willis Jacobson wjacobson@leecentralcoastnews.co
A nonprofit organization that is working to restore and reopen the old downtown Lompoc Theatre recently has made progress in its efforts.
The Lompoc Theatre Project’s board of directors last month made the first payment against the delinquent property taxes owed by the previous owner of the historic building. This means the theater has been removed from Santa Barbara County’s list of properties in default for unpaid taxes.
Read MoreWe at the Lompoc Theatre Project are beyond thrilled to announce — via social media, and at a news conference we just held— that we now own the deed to the historic Lompoc Theatre, built in 1927.
Santa Barbara County Superior Court Judge Jed Beebe cleared the path Monday, Jan. 25, for the Theatre Project to take ownership of the theater when he granted the nonprofit’s petition to foreclose on the previous owner, Lompoc Housing and Community Development Corporation (LHCDC).
Read MoreDuring its annual membership meeting Sept. 22, the nonprofit Lompoc Theatre Project membership elected four new board members and renewed terms for two existing board members.
The new board members are Lompoc residents Michelle Ball, Raymond Down, Jenelle Osborne and Nancy Shaw. Founding members Carol Benham and Jack Carmean, also of Lompoc, were also re-elected to continuing seats on the nine-member board of directors.
“We’re delighted with the addition of these four talented, dedicated Lompoc residents to our board of directors,” said Mark Herrier, LTP president. “We’re stronger than we’ve ever been and are ready to hit the ground running when we take possession of the theater later this year.”
Read MoreAfter more than three years of wrangling over ownership and liens on the downtown Lompoc Theatre, the Lompoc City Council voted Tuesday to sell its $700,000 deed of trust on the theater to the nonprofit Lompoc Theatre Project for one dollar.
The sale of the deed for $1 to the Lompoc Theatre Project will allow the nonprofit to proceed with an uncontested foreclosure on the theater’s current owner, Lompoc Housing and Community Development Corporation (LHCDC). The foreclosure process is expected to take about 90 days, according to Mark Herrier, President of the Lompoc Theatre Project.
"For the first time since this organization has been formed, we finally control our own fate, and have the ball in our hands,” he said.
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