Monterey City Council set to decide Osio Cinemas’ fate.

The group of three former employees looking to re-open Osio Cinemas signed a sublease March 25, moving them one step closer to bringing independent film back to Monterey.

The City Council will vote on whether or not to approve the lease in April, as the Osio Building is city-owned.

The process has taken nearly half a year longer than originally anticipated after the former employees successfully raised more than $76,000 through a Kickstarter campaign over the summer and had planned to open in late-2015. (The theater abruptly closed on July 20, and employees had to wait for the final pay until the end of 2015 when the former owner, Mark Borde, paid them out of pocket.)

They are now incorporated under the name Le Prince Cinemas.

The name Le Prince is in homage to Louis Le Prince, says Shanneen Kirkpatrick of the group, the French “Father of Cinematography” whose invention of the motion picture was claimed by Thomas Edison.

The first hold up was caused by the bankruptcy proceedings of the former owner of the Osio Cinema, Central Coast Cinemas who had racked up $382,680 in debt they were unable to make good on. The bankruptcy case was closed in late November allowing the trio to move ahead on a sublease with the building's lease holder Green Valley Corp. of Grass Valley.

Gifts from the 621 donors are in the process of being distributed, but private screenings for large donors will have to wait until the council approves the lease, Jirko Senkel wrote in an email to supporters.

On a side note: The city-owned Osio Building has 29 low-to-moderate income units, many of which come furnished by the city, but City Property Manager Rick Marvin notes the long wait list.

In the coming month, restrooms and the marquee will be renovated, says Senkel, in preparation for a grand opening at a yet-to-be-announced date.

Fans of independent film, thought-provoking documentaries and foreign cinema will also have another reason to ditch Netflix and Hulu’s Criterion Collection: Osio Cinemas now has a beer and wine license that will allow patrons sip their favorite beverages as they watch films not shown anywhere else in Monterey County.