Six months ago, Hunter Excavation did more than $35,000 worth of work on the site where the new Madras movie theater is expected to open.

Jerry Johnson, the Madras company’s owner, has yet to be paid. And he’s not the only one waiting for a check.

Six companies filed liens against the movie theater business and its owner, Chuck Nakvasil, of Portland. The liens total more than $200,000.

Johnson said in 18 years of business, this is the first time he’s filed a lien.

“It’s not common. The bottom line is, this guy hasn’t paid his subcontractors,” Johnson said.

And Johnson is worried he will never see the money.

“I need my money like everybody else in the world,” he said.

Nakvasil said Sunday that the bills haven’t been paid yet in part because his lawyer has been out of town. He also said he was working on some finance issues but declined to give specifics.

Nakvasil reassures

“Everyone will be paid,” he said.

The theater recently pushed back its completion date. The Madras Redevelopment Commission, which agreed to pay the project $100,000 a year for five years to lure the theater to town, agreed on a later opening date.

Nakvasil, who owns seven other theaters throughout the state, said in an earlier interview that his $3.5 million project will be completed this spring.

He said he’s already invested $2 million on the Madras project, and it’s 80 percent complete.

The theater is part of a larger project known as Jefferson Square, along U.S. Highway 97. Developer Scott Goodrich, of Bend, owns the surrounding property.

The Madras community has long wanted to have its own theater. The theater is expected to have five screens and to show first-run movies.

Thomas Hunziker, who owns AM-1 Roofing, of Bend, filed a lien for $27,468. He said he’s still hoping to be paid but filed the lien to protect himself.

“It’s a legal thing,” he said. “Either 75 days after substantial completion or 75 days after you have been there, if you miss that day, you lose your position to file a lien. So, you wouldn’t want to do that. Even if you were 98 percent sure you were going to get paid, you don’t want to miss that date.”

According to information from Jefferson County Deputy Clerk Kate Zemke, Ferguson Fire and Fabrication, of California, filed a lien for $2,576.87; Platt Electric Supply filed a lien for $47,125; and Bend Electric filed a lien for $104,450.