By Susan Salyer
LOUISA, Ky. — Kim Willard and her husband, Darrell have poured everything into the operation of the refurbished Garden Theater for the last few years — with the backing of Tim and Leila Robinson who have poured a lot of funds into the program. The Garden Theater was an ARC operation until recently.
Mrs. Willard told Louisa City Council last night that the Robinsons no longer control the theater facility and a company is now renting the building at an undisclosed price from the new owners, also not disclosed.
Most employees of the Garden were laid off and filed for unemployment this week, Ms. Willard said. She said the Willards now own the production company but the building rental is more then they can pay. She did not say how much the rental cost will be.
“Our employees have been wonderful, they have been there to work on whatever we need and we really appreciate them,” Mrs. Willard said. “We have three workers now but we are literally just barely making it.”
She told the council she did not know what they can do to save the business but that she is open to suggestions and ideas.
City Attorney Eldred “Bud” Adams said the council cannot legally expend funds to the private company. “It’s a great program but legally, we can’t expend any funds,” Adams told Mrs. Willard.
Mrs. Willard, a native of New York who has been living in Louisa since 2020, said she understands that but she said, “there are people in this room that know how to get things done and have the means to pursue it.”
She said she needs money for the rent on the building and salaries. “We have built up some monies that we can use to promote and purchase the rights for the shows,” she said. “We just can’t manage the rent and salaries without some help.” She emphasized the Willard Company is a (conditional) not for profit organization so they will not make lots of money from it. She said they love the setting and people she has gotten to know. They have fundraisers through the year which helps, she said.
Budget last year for the operation was $619,368., Mrs. Willard said. But she said that included the funding of “generous donors” who are no longer able to provide the money.
Council member Rose Lester asked if the company has other sponsors and if they have pursued grants to help out. Mrs. Willard said they have no other sponsors.
Tim and Leila Robinson are the former owners of Addiction Recovery Care which brought in millions of dollars to their personal fortune and they spent a lot of it on projects that made the city look cleaner. The reopening of the Garden Theater after decades of misuse was a major hit with local citizens. But ARC has had financial and legal problems in the past year and the Robinsons apparently do not have as much funding at their disposal.
There have been no official word on how many businesses formerly operated by ARC in Louisa, will stay or go.
Louisa Mayor Harold Slone told Mrs. Willard to email the figures she is talking about so the council can get a snapshot of what is going on. “I agree that this facility has been an asset to the city and I’d like to look into it to see what, if anything, the city can do to help,” Slone said.
