We all can all agree the Senator Theatre is a Baltimore treasure. Watching a movie in the art-deco architectural gem is an event and makes you feel as if you lived in an era when new releases were still the talk of the town and not just another entertainment option.
We do not want to see it close. But it does not deserve the taxpayer dollars being proposed by city officials. Paying off the $320,000 in unsecured debt for the theater makes no sense in good economic times and zero sense now, with the country in recession and unemployment lines growing longer. 1st Mariner Bank, which holds the mortgage, will be happier. But where does that leave the rest of us?
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Owner Tom Kiefaber has proved over and over again that he cannot run the theater at a profit. He’s faced foreclosure numerous times, but thanks to public help, staved off shutting it down. If this is an example of how the government will save the economy, we can only wait to see how the billions coming to Maryland from the federal bailout will be spent. Failing businesses should apply now to hold their place in line.
And this is no regular loan being proposed, as reported. The only way taxpayers will get the money back is if the property is sold. The theater would not have to make any payments — interest or otherwise — under the current proposal.
Can Mayor Sheila Dixon really look at the people of Baltimore and tell us that saving a theater is the best use of public funds?
It does not matter that the money is contingent on the Senator turning itself into a nonprofit. What happens when the new entity can’t pay its bills and the remainder of its mortgage? Will city taxpayers step in again?
The Board of Estimates should reject the proposal and force Kiefaber to take full responsibility for the theater. Picking winners and losers only sends the message that the government is capricious and failure should be rewarded.
