In 1996, a committee formed for the sole purpose of restoring the Ritz Theatre began the lengthy process of acquiring grants and local support. They proceeded with raising funds themselves. Before the application could be filed, the committee had to show a matching contribution comprising of at least 50 percent. Both of these have been completed. In fact, the next major fund-raising campaign is scheduled to begin next month.
Municipalities can financially support any venture officials deem as serving public interest.
When complete, the Ritz will be a multi-use theater, and is likely to be used for plays, dinner parties, movies and a variety of other uses. Some of that is attributed to volunteers, in-kind support and donations, Wood said. The Ritz, though initially projected for completion sometime next year, is not expected to be complete for at least two more years. Time constraints, Wood said, are due to the procedures that must be followed when using grant funding. The state pays in installments, but not until the contractual agreement phase is completed.