There are no movie theaters in the city of Bothell. At least not yet.

But if and when a theater does come to town, those hoping to catch the latest Hollywood epic locally will pay a 5-percent admissions tax to the city.

Bothell City Council approved a measure creating the tax at a meeting earlier this month. The tax is the same collected by neighboring cities such as Lynnwood and Woodinville.

With two theaters located in the area of Alderwood Mall, Lynnwood collects approximately $700,000 a year thanks to the ticket tax. In Woodinville, the annual take is roughly $200,000.

“I think a lot of people would love to see a movie theater in Bothell,” said Mayor Mark Lamb. But Lamb would not confirm or deny any serious interest on the part of developers in creating a theater here.

In other news:

• The city has applied for a $200,000 King County Preservation Grant with an aim toward possibly gaining control of two properties.

Lamb said the city is hoping to acquire a parcel along the Sammamish River and also what he called the “Boy Scout” property along the west side of Interstate 405. Both properties would be set aside as green or park space.

Lamb said council also wants to find a way to formally protect what open space there is in the city. He said some sort of ordinance is likely on its way at some point in the future.

• Even as the city prepares to move forward with various capital improvement projects including a new city hall, council passed legislation requiring 1 percent of the dollars spent on any public project be set aside to fund arts-related activities. An ad-hoc residents committee will decide on how the dollars are spent.

Lamb said the idea had widespread support and involved such a small percentage of project dollars, he saw no reason not to move forward.