Sep 17, 2002 3 min read

If the proposal by Fayette Films Inc. to buy or lease the Great Meadows Amphitheater from the county were a screenplay, all that has happened so far could be considered Act 1. As the curtain is set to rise on Act 2, Scene 1 (a meeting with the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources in Harrisburg) it’s important that all the key actors make an appearance. For those who are sketchy on the details of Act 1, the film company (Cast: local attorney Ira Coldren, writer and studio developer Jason Thomas and Hollywood-based real estate mogul Barry Schlesinger and his wife, Doris Keating-Schlesinger, a veteran movie producer) offered to lease the long-dormant Great Meadows Amphitheater and the surrounding 130 acres for $5,000 a month the first year, double that amount during the second through fifth years of the lease with an option to buy for $500,000.

The Fayette County Commissioners (Chairman Vince Vicites, Sean Cavanagh and Ron Nehls) were ready to jump at such fortune and ink a deal. But nothing goes smoothly for the courthouse threesome.

Enter Joanne Hanley, superintendent of the nearby Fort Necessity National Battlefield operated by the National Park Service.

Hanley expresses concern that the movie folks (and tourists they might attract through another venture) might encroach upon the serenity of the fort and battlefield that played a key role in the French & Indian War at the same time the government and private donors are spending $12 million to build a tourism center in anticipation of the upcoming 250th anniversary.

Meanwhile, the county discovers deed restrictions were placed by the state years ago that would restrict much of the property’s use to recreation, conservation or open spaces and were conveyed along with the title when the county gained possession last year.

It will take an act of Harrisburg to lift this.

Before the commissioners have a chance to contact Sen. Richard Kasunic, he receives a letter from millionaire philanthropist Robert Eberly advising him to “vigorously oppose” the efforts of the “shortsighted commissioners” to lift restrictions because the land acts as a protective buffer for the historic Great Meadows, where Washington and his troops made their stand. (The audience might be reminded that Eberly several years ago wanted the amphitheater to stage “Streets of Gold” and be home to a coal mining town theme park.)

Kasunic vows that Eberly (despite any past or anticipated campaign contributions) pulls no more weight than any of his other constituents and that this all could be resolved if everyone would just sit down and develop an agreeable compromise.

But getting these players all on the same stage might prove difficult. Vicites has arranged a Sept. 23 meeting with the state DCNR to begin the process of lifting the restrictions, a process that he insists must be done to keep the county from facing heavy fines if later the state thinks it acted unwisely.

Nehls wants to sign the deal with the film company and worry about the restrictions later. So he doesn’t plan to go to the Harrisburg meeting.

In the next week or so, behind the scenes, Commissioner Nehls should be advised that it is in the best interest of the deal for him to attend the meeting.

Nehls has said he wants representatives from the film company at the meeting. Even if that doesn’t occur, he should still attend and fulfill the role of their advocate.

The beginning of Act 2 in Harrisburg is no time for Nehls to exit the stage.