Columbia Theatre, Inc., officials say a lack of financial support halted work on the theater and led the group to shift its focus from restoring the downtown showplace to putting on shows.

Columbia's Executive Director Pamela Voisey and board President Mitzi Kuster said there have been some misconceptions about the group and their efforts to restore the theater and they want the community to know how they've spent money dedicated to the project.

The Columbia Theatre, a staple of downtown Sharon for decades, was damaged by fire in 1981. In 1984, Sharon native and Lettermen frontman Tony Butala bought the building and turned it over to Columbia Theatre, Inc. to restore.

The organization has spent about $700,000 on physical repairs to the theater, including ceiling restoration, carpentry, electrical work and scaffolding, according the group. Finishing up the work could cost as much as $4 million.

While the theater had a dedicated group of supporters, the organization didn't have the money to keep the project going, the officials said.

Volunteers were able to complete work at the theater including removal of the auditorium seats, demolition of the basement floor, park maintenance, general building and site clean-up and decorative plaster casting.

Mrs. Voisey said the project got to a point where professional contractors were needed, and the money just wasn't there.

"I think that by and large we did everything we could," she said. The community has not come forward with enough money to support the restoration, she said. There were many people who were "supportive" but not "supporting" the organization she said.

Mrs. Voisey said she knows many people have a personal attachment to the theater.

"God bless the people who really care," she said.

Mrs. Voisey said they have tried to find ways to fund the project.

She said the group met with the Mercer County Regional Council of Governments and state representatives and tried, unsuccessfully, to meet with city leaders.

State lawmakers were able to help the theater group complete paperwork for consideration in the state's capital budget, but that didn't guarantee any money would be given to the theater, she said.

In the last decade, the board took steps to determine the scope of the project. Mrs. Voisey said.

In 1996, the board paid John Fisher, a theatrical architect from Tarzana, Calif., $10,000 to determine if the building was worth renovating and the scope of work that needed completed, she said.

In 1997, a capital campaign study was conducted by Bailey Herrington and Associates of Cleveland, at a cost of $14,000. The study showed it would cost at least $4 million to get the theater up and running, Mrs. Voisey said.

In 1998 the board hired architects Diamanio+Anthony of Pittsburgh and Burt, Hill, Rittleman and Kosar of Butler at a cost of $25,000 to develop a preliminary design and "nail down" costs so the board would know what kind of funding was needed to carry out the project, she said.

In 1999 the board hired Stu Patz of RER Economic Consultants, Virginia, to create a business plan.

In the end, the board felt that the people of Mercer County could not afford to support the project. Mrs. Kuster said they also considered that once the theater doors were open it would cost a lot of money -- about $130,000 a year -- to keep the theater up and running.

That's "an incredible amount of money for us," Mrs. Voisey said.

In July 2001, Mrs. Voisey said the Columbia board decided to change the focus of the organization to their programming, including children's theater and some adult productions, Mrs. Voisey said. Those programs cost between $3,000 and $5,000 to stage, she said.

The organization still runs weekly bingo games at Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1338 in Sharon but the games haven't been profitable for about five years, Mrs. Voisey said.

Mrs. Kuster and Mrs. Voisey said the group has a "very loyal but small patron base," but it's not enough to keep things afloat.

Columbia Theatre, Inc. is interested in working with anyone who has the money and initiative to renovate the building.

The theater needs many improvements including a new heating and ventilation system, a new stage, a new orchestra pit dressing rooms, more restrooms, the balcony must be regarded, the lobby must be expanded, and the building must be made compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act, Mrs. Voisey said.

You can e-mail Herald Staff Writer Kristen Garrett at kgarrett@sharon-herald.com