(KLZA)-- Falls City Council members had two items on their Monday night agenda concerning buildings in the downtown area.

First was a request from the Kiekhaever family, owners of the three-story Gehling Theatre Building that houses True Value Hardware at 1519 Stone Street to consider a donation of the building to the city.

Paul Kiekhaefer addressed the Council, noting the upper two floors were built for a theatre but have not been utilized in that capacity for around 80 years. He said the are having a hard time keeping the rood structure of the building in good shape and asked if the city would accept a donation of the building.

A study of the building revealed the cost to repair the building including a new roof and new supports for the upper floors would likely be a million dollars or more.

Council member Joe Buckminster said he appreciated the offer, but asked if the city were to put a million dollars in tax dollars into the building to bring it up to standards, then what, noting the city is not in the business of rehabing houses or businesses.

The Council took no action on accepting the building.

Discussion on the purchase of the Rivoli Theatre building at 1810 Stone Street in an amount of $25 thousand was moved into executive session with no action taken on the agenda item following the closed session.

The Council did approve the Falls City Volunteer Fire Department burning down a nuisance house at 923 East 12th Street in conjunction with the Vacant Property Ordinance which would allow firefighters to train during the fire and save the city money on cost of demolishing the house.