West Valley City • The imperiled West Valley Performing Arts Center and the coalition of residents, performers and production workers hoping to save it got some relief Tuesday night.
In a unanimous vote, the West Valley City Council agreed to work with theater leaders to turn the city-owned performance space over to an independent organization so the venue can continue bringing stories to the stage in Utah’s second-largest city.
City Manager Ifo Pili told council members the vote would help the city and theater leadership work in good faith to come to an agreement on creating a sustainable future for the center.
“This resolution will mark the commitment by both the city and the performing arts theater,” Pili said, “to work together toward that solution.”
The resolution comes on the heels of city officials announcing last month that the venue would close in November.
That announcement spurred the creation of Keep West Valley Performing, a community group dedicated to preserving the theater. For weeks, advocates flooded council meetings with signs and public comments about what the center means to them.
The group was present at Tuesday’s meeting, donning stickers and holding signs.
The West Valley Performing Arts Center is currently operated by West Valley Arts, a city-run nonprofit.
The resolution approved Tuesday calls for city officials to work on transitioning West Valley Arts into an independent nonprofit that would manage the theater. The city also will provide an initial subsidy to get the new organization off the ground.
Prior to the council’s vote on the resolution, advocates called on the city to provide meaningful financial support to the new organization. They also expressed gratitude for the council’s willingness to reconsider plans to shutter the theater.
“I’m very, very grateful that you guys are looking at opportunities to keep it open,” Jeff Stinson, a dedicated theatergoer and C-suite executive at West Valley City-based Holiday Oil, told the council. “From Holiday Oil’s perspective, we are very invested in wanting to see that space stay open. I know that you’re looking at setting up a new entity as a possibility, which we’re really grateful you’re looking at that.”
Others shared why city officials should seek to keep the building open.
“It’s one of the most amazing places I have ever worked and I can say it has changed my life,” actor and theater educator Erik McGinnis said. “It will continue to change and save the lives of everyone who walks in there, so I urge you to do whatever you can to keep this building.”
City officials have said it’s not financially viable for West Valley City to continue running the center. A document attached to Tuesday’s meeting agenda said the theater needs “significant repairs” and is losing money.
Under the proposal to keep the theater open, the organization that would run the facility would have a new board and receive ownership of the building. It would also take over all operations like finances, marketing and fundraising.
The city would also give the new organization control of the West Valley Arts Foundation, the theater’s fundraising arm.
City officials and current theater leadership must now negotiate the details of the ownership transfer, including how much money the city will chip in. Pili told council members that he expects to have a full agreement ready for their consideration in a couple of months.
While the resolution says the city will provide a subsidy to the center up until the end of 2025, council member Lars Nordfelt left the door open for additional support.
“This resolution doesn’t prevent us from subsidizing arts beyond that time,” Nordfelt said, “but it says we are making a commitment to work with this new organization and help support them.”
Correction • June 5, 3:50 p.m.: This story has been updated to reflect the correct spelling of Erik McGinnis’ name.