Society president Doug Bean said he expected to have the study's results in hand last winter, because the city council had already approved the project. But the funding is still caught in red tape, Bean said.

The City Council approved the bidding process to fund a feasibility study in August of 2003. At the time, the owner of the theater was threatening to demolish the building and the society wanted a study done to illuminate the theater's potential.

No conditions were attached to the funding approval in August 2003, but City Manager Dave Niemeyer told the city last January that he needed more direction in order to conduct the study, including whether to meet with the theater's new owner to learn their future intentions. Dhitu, Dharmesh and Ashwin Bhagwakar had since bought the Des Plaines theater in November 2003.

Consequently, the city council authorized staff to meet with society representatives and theater owners to discuss future plans and obtain a letter of intent from the owner.

"We just received that 30 days ago," Niemeyer said on Monday. "The council made clear at its last discussion in February not to move forward until questions were answered."

One of the issues he said the city needed to understand was a working agreement between the theater owner and the preservation society, which was finally reached in September after months of negotiation. The theater owners will continue showing Indian Bollywood films as scheduled, but the preservation society will also feature a variety of entertainment ranging from classic movies and silent films to live local performances.

Bean said the funding is stalled because city staff do not feel that the theater is still in danger of being destroyed.

"From our perspective it is still threatened to be torn down for new development," Bean said. "Private moneys could be used at any time."

He said the group intends for the feasibility study to be the only city-funded portion of the restoration process. The theater's restoration is expected to cost $4.5 million.

"It has always been our hope that we wouldn't necessitate any tax increase or any financial obligation other than to get started with the feasibility study," Bean said. "For us it seems very straightforward ...This is a revisiting of something approved by the city council that was inexplicably never funded."

The council was scheduled to address the issue at a Nov. 15 meeting, but the item has been postponed.

Niemeyer said staff is currently reviewing the lengthy letter of intent.

"The city's main concern is that if we're going to spend thousands of dollars on a feasibility study, we want to know what the plans are," he said.

According to Bean, the feasibility study would encompass economic development impacts, detailed restoration costs and a community survey to determine what residents would like to see at the site.