With the future of Selma’s historic Walton Theater mired in uncertainty, leaders of both the theater and local government are ready to hear suggestions from the community on what to do next.

David and Sharon Jackson, have a contract to operate the city-owned theater until the end of the year. While the Jackson’s hope to continue their work into the new year, low attendance numbers and dwindling community support have forced the couple to consider stepping away from the operations of the theater once their contract concludes.

“My husband and I have been in business for almost two years at a loss, and we have no intention of being in a business where we lose money,” Sharon said while addressing members of the Selma Public Buildings Committee, a sub-committee of the Selma City Council, Tuesday evening.

“We have asked the public to help us raise the $6,000 to pay the bills we have right now so we don’t end the year in the red. I think we have raised $350 thus far,” Sharon said.

Noting she and her husband never intended to operate the theater for an extended period of time, Sharon asked the committee to call for input from the public.

“Our goal has always been to transition,” she said. “I think it would be worthwhile to get a group of concerned citizens together and brainstorm, because we don’t have all of the answers — to really think about what it would take to move forward, and what are we willing to do to move forward.”

With the agreement of the committee members, a think tank session has been scheduled for Monday, Nov. 25 at 6 p.m. at the Walton Theater.

Committee chair and Ward 4 Selma City Councilmember Angela Benjamin called Tuesday’s Building Committee meeting to determine the Jackson’s intentions regarding the ownership of the theater.

During Tuesday’s meeting, Benjamin acknowledged the difficult position the Jackson’s have found themselves in at the theater, and said the city has worked to help the theater thrive including dropping the cost of rent for the building, as well as ongoing work to amend the contract to enable the Jackson’s to host parties and gatherings at the theater.

“There have been several things that have been asked of the city, and we have done our best to answer those things,” Benjamin said. “We made a great investment in this movie theater. We need to talk about what it is we need to do to continue on.”

While the meeting on Nov. 25 will focus on a possible transition in operational leadership, Sharon said current financial crisis would also be addressed.

“We are focused on 2013,” Sharon said. “We have got to get through 2013 and find a way to make the theater financially stable, and then move forward and try to find what is the best way to operate the theater in 2014 because, obviously, there are some changes that we’re going to have to make.”

Sharon said those changes would be need to be wide-ranging.

“It’s not just about ownership changes, it’s about changes we need to make to make the theater fiscally sound,” Sharon said.