As renovations commence on the Mars Theatre, the Springfield City Council selected two people to serve on the temporary committee for the Mars.

Council members chose Springfield City Manager Brett Bennett and Murray Kight to serve on the board, which will attempt to determine how the Mars will be run in the future.

The city owns the building, and the Springfield Revitalization Corporation has a long-term lease with the city for the Mars. Efforts to restore the Mars got a boost recently with a $20,000 grant from the Fox Theatre Institute in Atlanta.

Council members awarded the bid for Mars Theatre construction services last month to Phil Kieffer Construction for approximately $387,000. Once finished, the building will accommodate nearly 300 people on the main floor and in the balcony.

SRC chairman Wayne Kight had asked city council earlier this year to form a five-person temporary advisory council for the Mars. Council members Charles Hinely and Kenny Usher, also members of the SRC, were picked previously to be on the temporary advisory committee for the Mars.

The SRC also has announced its summer outdoor movie schedule, with films to be shown on the exterior wall of the Mars. The first movie will be "Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark" on June 8, with "Captain America: The First Avenger" on July 3 and "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides" on Aug. 10. The SRC also will show "Brave" on Sept. 21 and "Hotel Transylvania" on Oct. 26.

Admission to the movies is free and concessions will be available for purchase. For more on the movies and their showtimes, see www.marstheatre.com/movie.

Council members also re-appointed Herb Jones as a non-public representative on the Coastal Regional Commission.