PAYSON — City officials put off a proposal to help former Mayor Gordon Taylor bring a performing arts center to the city.

Taylor and his wife, Karen, recently purchased the defunct Huish Theater, just steps from their home, and want to turn it into the Huish Performing Arts and Cultural Center. The couple asked the City Council for help last week, even just a waiver of fees, but received a thumbs down.

"We can't give money to something that doesn't exist," City Manager Richard Nelson said, echoing the council.

Officials said if the Taylors get a nonprofit designation, they may reconsider the proposal. Gordon Taylor, who worked to get the federal, nonprofit tax-exempt status for the Peteetneet Academy, has already applied, Karen Taylor said.

Plans and designs are continuing, she said, including a new performance stage. A 20-person board of directors is being assembled, and the project has raised the interest of performance-minded folks in the community. She envisions it as a theater that would serve the Payson Community Theater group, which now uses the Payson High stage for its plays and musicals.

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