Temporary chain link construction fencing surrounding the Lear Theater was stolen Nov. 14, dealing another blow to the historic structure in downtown Reno.
City staff in a memo to council members on Friday said a portion of the fencing along the front and west sides of the building were stolen. Images included in the memo show the chains locking the fencing panels together had been cut.
The city increased surveillance by security officers and park rangers over the weekend to prevent break-ins—which in the past have led to further damage to the building. New fencing was installed Monday costing the city an estimated $7,000 to $9,000, according to the memo. Money from the city’s general fund was used to cover the cost.
“This expenditure impacts staff’s ability to address other incidental work that has not yet been identified, and lower-priority repairs may need to be deferred to future years due to limited funding,” the memo noted.
New temporary wrought iron fencing, which city staff said would be more secure and better align with the Lear’s historic facade, was planned for installation in 2025 using American Rescue Plan Act funds. That fencing won’t be happening according to plan, however, after no bids came in for the restoration work.
“Multiple contractors attended the pre-bid site meeting and expressed interest in the project throughout the bid advertisement period,” the city’s Public Works Director Kerri Koski wrote in a memo to council members. “However, no bids were received on November 7, 2024 and staff had no requests to extend the bid period during this time.”
Projects completed with federal funding require three weeks of advertisement before bids are received, and in the case of ARPA funds they must be awarded by Dec. 31 of this year. “There is not enough time to rebid this project and award a contract by the ARPA deadline,” Koski said.
The request for proposals, which opened Oct. 31, included replacement of the concrete steps and handrails at the theater’s main entrance, landscaping, exterior lighting and the updated temporary fencing. Those items weren’t approved by the State Historic Preservation Office until Oct. 4, putting the city on a tight schedule to approve a bid and allocate the funding.
Reno City Council members, on Oct. 9, were told of the shortened timeframe to award the funds but decided to keep the nearly $827,373 allocated to the project. The lack of bidders to complete the project means council members will need to redirect the funds to another project before the end of the year or return the money to the federal government.
Just last week Preserve Nevada, a statewide nonprofit focused on preserving the state’s cultural, historical and archaeological heritage, once again placed the Lear Theater on its list of the state’s most endangered places. The theater has made the list multiple times.
