A city committee refrained from involvement in a legal battle that would potentially determine the ownership of a debt ridden Orpheum Theater that is facing foreclosure at a meeting Tuesday.

Members of city council voted not to sell their liens, which are debts to the city, on the Orpheum Theater to either of two potential buyers.

Potential buyers of the theater, located at 216 State Street, offered to buy the city’s liens, because it could potentially help them in a buying position, Ald. Lisa Subeck, District 1 said.

Frank-operated Music Lovers LLC and Marla Frank, chief financial operator for Frank Productions, Inc., were business owners who said they had an interest in buying the liens so they would have an opportunity to revamp the local theater,  while the Parras family , who owns the Comedy club and Paul’s club also expressed the same interest.

“Two of the parties interested in purchasing [the Orpheum] came to us trying to purchase the lien, and now there is some debate as to why,” Subeck said. “If somebody owns a lien they can actually stop a sale.”

Liens are essentially debts, Subeck said. Whoever is in possession of the liens is owed money, and would have the power to control the sale of the property, Subeck said.

Henry Doane, the current title-holder for the theater, said he believes the interested parties would also see a potential profit from purchasing the liens.

“Obviously there’s too very motivated parties,” Doane said. “And it seems that all leans will be paid in full with interest, so whomever does hold those liens will probably make a profit on them,” Doane said.

By selling the liens to an interested party, the city would have been in a place to have an impact on the sale of the Orpheum, Ald. Scott Resnick, District 8, said. In other words, selling the leans to one party or the other is effectively choosing a “side”, Resnick said.

“Instead of making a decision and trying to pick among the these two potential buyers, we decided not to sell our liens, and we stayed out of it,” Resnick said. “So we’ll get paid later on, but now courts can decide amongst the parties.”

The previous owners of the Orpheum did not pay fines for building expectations, Subeck said, which is what resulted in the liens. The risk in the city keeping the liens, Subeck said, is that it is possible that the city may not be able to recover the debt.

However, the Orpheum is also in need of repair, Frank said. Though the core structure of the theater is maintained, the building needs electrical reworking and other maintenance, Frank said.

“If no one owns it soon, it will become uninsurable and deteriorate more,” said Marla Frank, CFO at Frank Productions, Inc.

Scott Leslie, co-owner of the Majestic Theater, noted that the Orpheum holds serious potential as a venue. He noted to the council that there are other people capable of managing a business besides the two interested buyers, the Frank and the Parras family. Leslie said the city should not be the ones to decided the ownership of the property.

“The city should be engaged in not being engaged in these kinds of actions,” Leslie said.

Other potential buyers could have a chance at purchasing the Orpheum. The theater is scheduled for sheriff sale, which is similar to going to auction, in early November.