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Post by dumdave on Jul 31, 2015 11:14:58 GMT -6
No. It is quite long and very detailed. Ask her & she may give you a copy. Katie Troccoli 815-228-2058 katiet1@sbcglobal.net
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Post by Kyle Mitchell on Jul 31, 2015 15:36:01 GMT -6
n about 1997, as a real estate agent, I represented Tim Burke in the purchase of the Majestic Theatre at 119 N Vermillion St. in Streator Il. At the closing, we found out that we grew up two blocks from each other, went to the same high school, had many mutual friends, but had never met.
After he bought the Majestic he would come to the theatre from California where he lived to work on the place. He would invite my family, and I to come to the theatre. We helped him with many projects, what ever work needed to be done.
When Mr. Burke bought the theatre there was a 10 year protective covenant that he could not play any first run film. When the covenant was up, the Majestic opened in 2007 managed by Kyle and Cindy Mitchell. According to Mr. Burke, they where not paying rent and he needed to make a change. In early 2009 Tim Burke asked me to help him run the theatre. He had a manager, Shelly and Paul Bottomly. I agreed to collect the money and make sure the bills got paid. About 6 weeks into the business, Tim called me at my real estate office about noon, and said, he had fired the manager. He told me that he needed my husband Jim and I to run the theatre tonight or it will go dark and never open again. We would be met at the door by projectionist Bill Sramek. That was June 12, 2009. I was there almost every night there after. I learned how to run the theatre as I went along. My husband Jim, and I ran the theatre for about 5 years, 7 days a week. The only day we closed was Christmas Eve. In those 5 years I took one pay check for $300. I paid all the bills including the mortgage and insurance. In hind sight, I don’t think any of the people involved before me deserved the things that Tim said about them.
In 2011 Tim Burke suggested we buy another theatre. Together we purchased a theatre in Charleston, IL known as the Will Rogers. My partner did not hold up his end of the agreement. I was left to make all the mortgage, insurance, and property taxes payments with no help from him for restoration of the closed venue. He threw a tantrum, the first Thanksgiving after we bought the Will Rogers. My husband and I invested $20,000. down payment. We took out a $15,000. loan to upgrade the electrical system to get the project moving forward. We paid all the carrying costs.
In 2012 - 2013 Hollywood began converting from 35mm film to digital projection. The Majestic was running 35 mm film. As time went on it became more difficult to get film to put on the screen. The Majestic theatre began to struggle under the weight of carrying the un-open Will Rogers and paying it’s own overhead expenses. Not being able to get product to put on the screen was killing the Majestic.
A group of Streator citizens (Amanda Christoff, Chuck Vaughn, Haily and Holly Burasch, Cinda Bond, Dave Miller to name a few) approached me about trying to raise the funds to convert the theatre to digital projection. For the next year we held 50/50 contests, bake sales, cook outs, and car shows. We sold buttons, and t – shirts. We wrote letters to anyone we thought might help. Any free moment was spent with a goal to raise the estimated $121,000. dollars needed to convert the Majestic from film to digital projection. We raised about $16,000.
An angel sent me an e mail. Bob Endres had began his career at the Majestic. He had gone on to work at Radio City Music Hall and now works for Dolby in New York. Mr. Endres donated the rest of what we needed to get digital projection. He sent two of the countries best technicians to install the equipment. Dave Birdie and Paul Sacco donated their over time to the effort. The cost was much higher then our original estimate to convert the theatre from film to digital projection.
Our business partner, Tim Burke, who owned the Majestic building, whom I thought would be happy, freaked out. He said he had thought we would not be successful and planned to close the Majestic. He made crazy demands from me to buy the building. He wanted $100,000. in cash and assume his $128,000. mortgage. (That was not assumable) I offered him $10,000. over the appraised value. And he could take anything he had stored in the building not essential to running the business. He refused. On Monday Aug. 25th 2014, after a show, he went gangster. He sent men to board up the front of the theatre in the middle of the night locking me out. I got Facebook messages from very upset public who saw it happening. Not a good night for me.
My attorney told me it was a civil matter. Go to the building and secure the assets of the corporation. I was the legal tenant as I had not been given notice to vacate. My main goal was to secure the digital projectors. I knew their value and was sure he would sell them and pocket the money. On the morning of Thursday Aug. 28, 2014 my crew of friends and employees entered the building and did just that.
The building owner, my business partner, never made another mortgage payment. He circulated rumors that I had pocked all the money and he had been paying all the bills. I had heard the story before, about Kyle and Cindy Mitchell. It was not the truth for me, and I suspect not for them either.
I continued to make payments on the Will Rogers Theatre in Charleston, IL because my husband and my name is on title. But, because Tim Burke never made another payment on the Majestic, the First Farmers Bank is taking the Will Rogers Theatre too. The Bank told me they have never before given loan approval to some one they are foreclosing on. It is uncharted waters. Jim and I have loan commitment to purchase both theatres if an agreement could be reached. Tim Burke never responded to anyone who reached out to him. It is hard to understand why a person would throw himself under the bus. His actions not only hurt himself, but all the employees, people, and communities where these two theatres are located. A very sad way to live one’s life, when he could have been a hero.
On Aug. 12th the Majestic Theatre goes to Sheriff Sale. The terms of the sale are 10% down in cash and paid in full in cash within 24 hours. On Tuesday Aug 4, I will be meeting with Hoyt Alexander of First Farmers Bank to show the building to prospective buyers for the sheriff sale. The only way I will be able to buy either property is if the bank wins the bid at the sheriff sale.
There are many people who have interest in the Majestic. I think most think the Majestic is turn key. They are going to be shocked when they see the condition. The building owner or his friends have stripped the building. The movie screens are gone. The sound equipment is gone. The baseboard heaters in the halls and bathrooms are gone. The heaters in the lobby are gone. The water heaters are gone. The mirrors are gone. The poster cases are gone. Some of the theatre seats are gone. They were scrapping the cast iron radiators for cash. The roof is leaking, electric wires are hanging loose, and everything is covered by mold.
My husband and I ran the theatre for 5 years. I tried to contribute to the community the best I could. If someone else buys the building I fear it won’t be long before they walk away. If I turn the donated digital projectors over to a new person, what is to stop them from selling them to recoup their business loss. It is not easy to operate a two screen old movie theatre in Streator, Illinois with a depressed economy.
The Majestic holds a special place in my heart. She is a grand old Art Deco Theatre built for Vaudeville. If these walls could talk, what acts they must have seen. The Majestic is an anchor in the down town that attracts people who eat in restaurants, and buy gas. The fall out for the cities of Streator and Charleston to be deprived of open theatres is devastating. I feel I have let these communities down, even though the circumstances were far beyond my control.
I would like nothing more then to secure both the Majestic and Will Rogers Theatres and proceed with the commitment that I have made to both Streator and Charleston, Illinois to re open their movie palaces. Even if I secure both properties the task of getting them back in shape to open will be daunting. People tell me I am crazy to care. My heart is heavy with grief. I have to do what ever I can to save both the Majestic and Will Rogers theatre palaces.
Katie Troccoli 815-228-2058 katiet1@sbcglobal.net
I lived up to and beyond my long term agreement with him. I put a lot more into that theatre than I was ever supposed to.
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Post by greekgod on Jul 31, 2015 20:11:31 GMT -6
Humm, Did anyone read anything about the closing of the Majestic Theatre being caused by our City Officials being unfriendly to Businesses, the City Ordinances about Snow Removal from city sidewalks (that are incomprehensible), brown bags being delivered to City Hall "influence" elected officials decisions, the City of Streator resident's having a history of violence, City of Streator Police not enforcing the law, bars in town grievously over serving their patrons, how potential patrons of the Majestic would not drive to Streator because someone was alleged to have peed in an alley near the Majestic Theater "palace"...........you know, any part of "Kyles Rant"? I didn't read any of that in what Katie posted. Did I miss something? To me it appears to be a "business venture" that failed due to those involved not being on the same page, and will be sorted out in the Courts. That's only my opinion of course. g
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Post by Kyle Mitchell on Jul 31, 2015 20:28:13 GMT -6
Humm, Did anyone read anything about the closing of the Majestic Theatre being caused by our City Officials being unfriendly to Businesses, the City Ordinances about Snow Removal from city sidewalks (that are incomprehensible), brown bags being delivered to City Hall "influence" elected officials decisions, the City of Streator resident's having a history of violence, City of Streator Police not enforcing the law, bars in town grievously over serving their patrons, how potential patrons of the Majestic would not drive to Streator because someone was alleged to have peed in an alley near the Majestic Theater "palace"...........you know, any part of "Kyles Rant"? I didn't read any of that in what Katie posted. Did I miss something? To me it appears to be a "business venture" that failed due to those involved not being on the same page, and will be sorted out in the Courts. That's only my opinion of course. g Yes, you missed something. The owner of the building and president of the Corporation running the theatre called it a failed business because of a lack of revenue to cover expenses, saying that he couldn't afford to keep dumping money into it. I think Katie is probably keeping some of her feelings about the increasing problems private so that she doesn't receive the venomous vindictive attacks from our City like my family did. So what? That doesn't mean that the excessive bar violence problems reported by the newspaper are not increasing like our Mayor said when he caved in to show support for the liquor license holders yet provided no solution, does it?
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Post by mommytoo4 on Jul 31, 2015 20:54:43 GMT -6
If the excessive bar violence is keeping the majestic from being a profitable business, why would Katie even begin to think of trying to purchase it herself to re-open it, I mean she was there every night, wouldn't she experience the same excessive bar violence as you?
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Post by helencrump on Jul 31, 2015 21:01:30 GMT -6
. In the above email, Katie says, "Not being able to get product to put on the screen was killing the Majestic."
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Post by greekgod on Jul 31, 2015 21:07:41 GMT -6
Humm, Did anyone read anything about the closing of the Majestic Theatre being caused by our City Officials being unfriendly to Businesses, the City Ordinances about Snow Removal from city sidewalks (that are incomprehensible), brown bags being delivered to City Hall "influence" elected officials decisions, the City of Streator resident's having a history of violence, City of Streator Police not enforcing the law, bars in town grievously over serving their patrons, how potential patrons of the Majestic would not drive to Streator because someone was alleged to have peed in an alley near the Majestic Theater "palace"...........you know, any part of "Kyles Rant"? I didn't read any of that in what Katie posted. Did I miss something? To me it appears to be a "business venture" that failed due to those involved not being on the same page, and will be sorted out in the Courts. That's only my opinion of course. g Yes, you missed something. The owner of the building and president of the Corporation running the theatre called it a failed business because of a lack of revenue to cover expenses, saying that he couldn't afford to keep dumping money into it. I think Katie is probably keeping some of her feelings about the increasing problems private so that she doesn't receive the venomous vindictive attacks from our City like my family did. So what? That doesn't mean that the excessive bar violence problems reported by the newspaper are not increasing like our Mayor said when he caved in to show support for the liquor license holders yet provided no solution, does it? Kyle, No, I missed nothing. YOU CLAIM THE LACK OF REVENUE IS DUE TO YOUR ACCUSATIONS! It would appear there were many others factors involved. Just my opinion. Kyle, with all your voluminous knowledge about the Majestic, can your share what years the Majestic actually turned a profit? Hummmmmmmm? g
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Post by Kyle Mitchell on Aug 1, 2015 6:04:53 GMT -6
If the excessive bar violence is keeping the majestic from being a profitable business, why would Katie even begin to think of trying to purchase it herself to re-open it, I mean she was there every night, wouldn't she experience the same excessive bar violence as you? I think Katie wants to re-open it because she did solicit and accept $130,000.00 in donations from the public and feels obligated to try to provide the community what she promised. After not talking to Katie for years after she helped Tim kick me out of the theatre, I went to take her some marketing materials that the supplier said she was looking for. She offered up to me, without any prompting at all, that the fights were her biggest problem with the City. Since she would need the cooperation of our City (as opposed to the vindictive attacks that they showed my family for my asking that the increasing bar violence problems be solved), I wouldn't expect her to be talking about their poor enforcement and lack of solutions to the problems, would you?
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Post by Kyle Mitchell on Aug 1, 2015 6:06:40 GMT -6
. In the above email, Katie says, "Not being able to get product to put on the screen was killing the Majestic." For years she was able to get product. However yes, just prior to the conversion she was probably missing out on some of the smaller releases. She did though have the equipment before the first major release that they said would be only digital (it was released in 35mm too though). That problem was solved, but I think they did have a chance to see in those couple of months that it did not really increase their attendance. Having digital projection didn't make enough more people decide to come to our downtown among the excessive bar violence and the other negative impacts of the over-serving to support it. The summer was over and they were heading into a much slower season when the owner of the building and president of the corporation running the business boarded it up as a failed business, citing their money problems.
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Post by father of two on Aug 1, 2015 7:40:18 GMT -6
If I were her I would go to the city and talk to them about taking care of problems in the area before buying and opening the theater. If she actually said that was a reason and was thinking about sinking money into this project it would give a couple weeks to see if anything changes and she gets a true feeling of what the city thinks by having the conversation with city officials.
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Post by Kyle Mitchell on Aug 1, 2015 7:54:33 GMT -6
If I were her I would go to the city and talk to them about taking care of problems in the area before buying and opening the theater. If she actually said that was a reason and was thinking about sinking money into this project it would give a couple weeks to see if anything changes and she gets a true feeling of what the city thinks by having the conversation with city officials. I would hope that we would hear that things are changing.
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Post by Blue Star on Aug 1, 2015 8:01:36 GMT -6
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Post by Kyle Mitchell on Aug 1, 2015 8:56:17 GMT -6
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Post by greekgod on Aug 1, 2015 12:39:46 GMT -6
If the excessive bar violence is keeping the majestic from being a profitable business, why would Katie even begin to think of trying to purchase it herself to re-open it, I mean she was there every night, wouldn't she experience the same excessive bar violence as you? I think Katie wants to re-open it because she did solicit and accept $130,000.00 in donations from the public and feels obligated to try to provide the community what she promised. After not talking to Katie for years after she helped Tim kick me out of the theatre, I went to take her some marketing materials that the supplier said she was looking for. She offered up to me, without any prompting at all, that the fights were her biggest problem with the City. Kyle, Again you post what "you think", an opinion, and hearsay, should we accept to believe you! Oh, and how many years did the Majestic Theatre make a profit? You must have some opinion about that? g
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Post by Kyle Mitchell on Aug 1, 2015 12:44:50 GMT -6
I think Katie wants to re-open it because she did solicit and accept $130,000.00 in donations from the public and feels obligated to try to provide the community what she promised. After not talking to Katie for years after she helped Tim kick me out of the theatre, I went to take her some marketing materials that the supplier said she was looking for. She offered up to me, without any prompting at all, that the fights were her biggest problem with the City. Kyle, Again you post what "you think", an opinion, and hearsay, should we accept to believe you! Oh, and how many years did the Majestic Theatre make a profit? You must have some opinion about that? g Gee greek, how observant you are. Yes, I post what I think, my opinion, and hearsay. So what? Don't believe what I say, I really don't care.
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