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The fate of the Rialto Theatre, a grand but crumbling 1920s cinema in the heart of Elmwood, has become the town's most heated debate. The council must soon decide whether to fund an expensive restoration or sell the site to a developer who would replace it with a much-needed parking garage. Leading the campaign to save the Rialto is local historian Priya Anand. "This building is the soul of our downtown," she says. "It is one of the last grand theatres of its kind in the region, and once it is gone, it is gone forever." Its ornate plaster ceiling and rows of red velvet seats, she notes, could never be rebuilt at any sensible cost today. Anand argues that a restored Rialto could host films, concerts, and community events, drawing visitors and life back to a struggling main street. "Towns that tear down their history end up looking like everywhere else," she warns. "Heritage is not a luxury; it is part of what makes people want to come here in the first place." Councillor Doug Fraser is unconvinced. He points to the price tag. "The engineers estimate the restoration at nearly six million dollars," he says. "That is money we simply do not have, for a building most residents have not set foot in for thirty years." He would rather see scarce public funds spent on repairing the town's crumbling roads and its overstretched library. Fraser argues that a modern parking structure would ease the chronic shortage of spaces that local businesses blame for driving shoppers out to the suburban malls. "I love old buildings as much as anyone," he says, "but I have to be practical with taxpayers' money." Others are caught in the middle. Café owner Lena Petrov can see both sides. "A restored theatre would bring people downtown in the evenings, which would be wonderful for my business," she says, "but if my daytime customers cannot find anywhere to park, that hurts me just as much." The council will hear public submissions before making its decision this spring.