By JIMMY LAWTON

OGDENSBURG – Ogdensburg city staff will review the legal options associated with the city’s potential acquisition of the Ogdensburg Cinema, but Mayor William Nelson says it’s unlikely the city will run it.

At the most recent council meeting the board received a letter from the theater’s owner Gill Jones offering the cinema to the city at no cost.

“We’ve asked staff to look into the legalities of it. I don’t know that we can really run a theater,” he said. “There are certain things we are allowed to do and I am not sure if this would fit the criteria.”

Regardless of whether the city can operate the theater, Nelson said he would rather see it go to a private entrepreneur.

“I truly don’t think it’s something the city wants to get into operating. The perfect situation would be for a private person to come forward, but we will have to see what happens,” he said.

Nelson said it’s also something the Ogdensburg Growth Fund might be interested in.

“I think is a lot of potential here. I think everyone would like to see the theater up and running, but right now we are just waiting for staff to come back to us with some answers and share their thoughts,” he said.

Nelson said it’s unfortunate that people now have to travel to Canton or Massena to enjoy new movies.

According the city manager’s office, the theater was not expected to be on the agenda for Monday’s meeting.

The theater closed in July 2012 after struggling financially.

Jones, the owner, said he had been losing money on the theater for years and kept it open for the community's sake.

In February Jones considered reopening the theater, if he could secure funding for the new digital equipment.

He requested a $100,000 loan from the city's Growth Fund, but was only approved for $60,000.

Jones declined the offer, accusing city officials of not supporting his effort to provide the service.

Jones also cited the industry’s move toward digital projection as a factor in the closing.