The Eatonton City Council met Tuesday night and reviewed renovation plans for the historic Pex Theatre, approved a community sponsorship request, and awarded a bid for improvements to downtown’s City Center Stage.
Following a brief citizen presentation promoting the establishment of a Boys & Girls Clubs of America branch in Eatonton, the council heard from Macon-based architect Harold DeLoach, who provided updates on design concepts for a proposed Pex renovation.
DeLoach described three potential designs and outlined structural challenges and options for modernizing the South Jefferson Avenue movie theater while preserving key elements of the historic building.
“What I’d like to do is kind of brief you all a little bit about what the condition of the building is now and then what we’ve done up to this point,” DeLoach told the council.
Initial concepts called for preserving the theater’s balcony structure, but further inspection revealed complications, including limited ceiling height and structural constraints. A third concept, which removes the current balcony framing and seating while maintaining the exterior structure, is now considered the best option, DeLoach said.
“With this concept, we’re taking the framing for the balcony totally out, just using the exterior walls, the roof system, and the floor system of the building,” he said. “So that gives you a lot more latitude.”
The revised design would also create a larger lobby with an approximate 14-foot ceiling, compared to the original seven-foot clearance. Plans also include concessions, restrooms, a meeting room behind the stage, and an upstairs lounge area for standing only, replacing all balcony seating.
Under this proposal, the theater would seat up to 159 people, with the upstairs lounge accommodating up to 115 people standing and the meeting room holding 78, for a total capacity of 352 at one time. However, if the meeting room were altered to operate as a standalone feature, it would require two bathrooms according to code, DeLoach pointed out, adding that its capacity also would be cut in half.
Ward 4 Councilmember Teresa Doster said she thought the redesign achieved a good balance for The Pex.
“In the end, we want to preserve the balcony, but we’re not going to preserve the actual structure,” she said. “That opens up a lot more options for us and will probably make the project less expensive.”
No concrete decision to move forward with The Pex plan was reached, however.
After giving the go-ahead to a Historic Preservation Committee-approved permit to make repairs to a historic pergola well on the property of Panola Hall on North Madison Avenue, council members did approve a $7,500 sponsorship request connected to “Voices and Votes: Democracy in America.”
This is a traveling Smithsonian Institution exhibit to be hosted by the Georgia Writers Museum (GWM) from April 25 to May 31 at the county administration building.
Speaking on behalf of the museum, GWM Board President Lou Benjamin said the exhibit is expected to draw large crowds and will rely heavily on volunteers throughout its stay in Eatonton.
“This event is going to run for six weeks, and we have to have it staffed at all times,” Benjamin said.
“When this kind of program was last in Eatonton, I think about 15 years ago, there were close to 8,000 people that came to the event.”
Benjamin said the requested funds would be used to provide meals, shirts, and other support to volunteers staffing the exhibit. All five councilmembers present voted unanimously to approve Benjamin’s request.
In other business, the council approved awarding a contract for the City Center Stage improvement project to Lagniappe (pronounced “Lan-yap”) Development after reviewing two bids for the work.
Engineering consultant Cory Johnson of Simonton Engineering said Lagniappe submitted the low bid, and construction on the stage could begin soon after the May 2 “Peg Leg” BBQ & Blues Festival, with a 120-to-150-day timeframe expected for completion.
City officials also noted major DOT paving work from Ga. Hwy. 441 near the Burger King truck stop along North and South Jefferson Avenues and along Oak Street to Hwy. 441 at the southern end of town is expected to begin in the final days of March.
“We were given a heads up that they were about two weeks out,” City Administrator Gary Sanders said, referring to the contractor. “So, we’re looking at the week of the 30th for a possible start.”
Eatonton City Council will next meet at 7 p.m. on April 7, at the county administration building (117 Putnam Dr., Eatonton) alongside Hwy. 441, north of downtown.