The Land of the Sun Theater could be one step closer to revival after the Artesia City Council voted to pursue capital funding to purchase or renovate the long-closed movie house often referred to as the Landsun or Land Sun.

Morgan Fox, executive director of Artesia MainStreet, discussed possible renovation during the council’s Feb. 11 meeting

“I talked with the director of New Mexico MainStreet at a recent conference,” Fox said. “They receive capital outlay funding from the New Mexico Legislature, grant it to communities across New Mexico, and they have a little bit left over.

“Their director said, ‘Let’s grant the city of Artesia monies to purchase the Landsun.’ So, we could either purchase the Landsun or if that’s not required, we can use (the money) to renovate. They have awarded $1.1 million over the last 10 years for theater renovations across New Mexico. Lovington received $400,000 and Carlsbad received $350,000.”

Fox also spoke to the New Mexico Environmental Department about the theater, she said.

“They applied for a $2 million federal grant in hopes that the city would buy the Landsun and they could help with some remediation if necessary,” Fox said “They have funding available for the first step, which is an environmental assessment … required before an acquisition.”

New Mexico MainStreet would require project completion in two years and ownership by the city for a minimum of 10 years, Fox said.

‘I think it’s exciting,” Fox said “We do have an opportunity to reengage with Russell Allen who owns Allen Theatres and maybe entice him back into participating in our community and that would be really excellent.”

“I’m all for it,” said councilor Jarrod Moreau. “We’ve already earmarked $1 million for renovations. However, we need to massage all that to make it work.”

In other action:

• Police Chief Kirk Roberts told the council there were eight auto burglaries in the city last month. He said the most common areas for auto burglaries are the south side of town and the Richey and 20th Street area. Roberts said many of the car burglaries in the city are committed by repeat offenders. “We have some new auto burglars but there are …. generations of the same family doing the same thing,” he said. Roberts also discussed an increase in “porch pirates” and recommended getting a delivery box that can be locked. “We have identified a few of these people but there are others,” Roberts said. “A lot of them will follow the delivery trucks around.”

• Community Development/Infrastructure Director Byron Landfair reported that bids have come in much higher than expected for a planned 1800-square-foot building to house portions of the planning and infrastructure department. “We may look at some portables to go in out there for now,” he said. “There’s not good news on the contracting cost front.