ARTICLE 1
Voters at tomorrow night's special Town Meeting will be asked to vote pro or con on making the Dreamland their own.

The question before voters is: Should the town try to take the Dreamland Theater from present owner Haim Zahavi so Nantucket can get its largest movie theater back (along with space for a community performing arts center) or should that task be trusted to a private entity?

On July 10, the FinCom voted unanimously not to recommend that voters support Article 1. It also voted to ask the Board of Selectmen to explore securing a right of first refusal regarding a future purchase of the Dreamland, or to author a deed restriction that requires that the ground floor of the theater be operated as a movie theater forever, regardless of who owns the building. In its comment section below the original article, it rewrote the article's language, removing the words "eminent domain" but leaving in "to acquire, by purchase or gift."

As stated in the Board of Selectmen's comment below the FinCom's comment, the selectmen are against taking the theater by eminent domain for financial reasons. The comment reads: "The Board does not support the article as proposed as the project lacks a full fiscal plan or long-term plan."

The FinCom's stipulation and the selectmen's position are that much more significant given prospective Dreamland buyer Rick Ulmer's withdrawal last week to purchase the Dreamland (see related story, page 1).

Article 1 began on the morning of June 11 with Selectman Michael Kopko, Nantucket Film Festival Founder Jonathan Burkhart, island arts supporters Christy Cure and Susan Carey and others collecting the 200 signatures necessary to request tomorrow night's special Town Meeting. After collecting names for more than a week, the petitioners got more than 350 signatures; in essence providing backup for Ulmer's quest to buy the Dreamland.

But now, Article 1 appears to be Nantucket's only chance to grab a stake in the fate of its historic theater. If the taking happens, the town is looking at spending around $9 million to buy it. If it does, Article 1 dictates that the town would either transfer the theater to another entity or enter into a 20-year lease agreement with a local group that would foot the renovation and operation costs for the building as a "Community Performing Arts Center."

A quorum of at least 405 voters is needed to rule on the acquisition of the Dreamland, and a two-thirds majority is required to pass the article. If the voters do choose eminent domain, those suffering from buyers remorse would get another crack at the issue sometime this fall in a special ballot vote needed to ratify the appropriation of funds for the property's purchase.

How much the voters value the Dreamland as a movie theater and its potential as a performing arts

space should determine the success of this article. I