Madison Cultural Arts District Offers Reserve Funds For Overture Debt
Board Sent Letter To Overture Development Corp. President
Updated: 8:00 am CST January 14, 2009
MADISON, Wis. -- The Madison Cultural Arts District responded on Tuesday to a plan to retire $28 million of the Overture Center's debt.The district's board of directors approved a letter to Overture Development Corp. President George Austin. The board said it's willing to use $4 million in reserve funds to help Overture even though it would exhaust the fund should repairs arise, WISC-TV reported.In the letter, the board said, "It is in MCAD's interest to cooperate in every way possible with the lenders and the city to retire the debt."The board called the plan a good starting point for discussion.The Overture Development Corp. wants city officials, lenders and philanthropist Jerry Frautschi to join forces to retire the debt and then sell the building to the city for $1.The city's Board of Estimates voted on Monday night to say it wasn't interested in having the city pick up the tab for the multi-million dollar theater complex in the city's downtown. They said it could end up being a bad deal for taxpayers, WISC-TV reported.
Previous Stories:
- January 13, 2009: Board Of Estimates Recommends City Not Assume Overture Debt
- January 8, 2009: Overture Proposes Plan To Pay Off Debt
- December 4, 2008: Overture Center To Cut Jobs, Scale Back Programs
- October 14, 2008: Overture Center's Financial Forecast Unsound
- September 21, 2008: Overture Center's Trust Fund Liquidated
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