Fiscal Court told amphitheater temporary repairs complete — the 60th season is a go!
From left, Magistrates Jerry Hahn, Jeff Lear and Bernard Ice talk prior to the start of Tuesday’s meeting of Nelson Fiscal Court.
By JIM BROOKS
Nelson County Gazette / WBRT Radio
Tuesday, May 15, 2018 — The message at Nelson Fiscal Court was clear — the show WILL go on!
Nelson Fiscal Court heard today that the state inspectors have approved the Certificate of Occupancy for the J. Dan Talbott Amphitheatre in time for the 60th season of The Stephen Foster Story this summer.
Magistrate Keith Metcalfe makes notes during a discussion at Tuesday’s Nelson Fiscal Court meeting.
The approval, which arrived Tuesday morning, clears the way for the amphitheater property to be used for upcoming high school graduations as well as the stage productions of The Stephen Foster Story and Mary Poppins over the summer.
Judge Executive Dean Watts credited the team that was pulled together to help get the drama open in time for summer.
The repairs to the facility this spring are temporary; after the season end, stage and backstage areas will once again be closed — and then demolished. A new stage — from the concrete up — will be built, with new sets built with new materials.
“It will look the same, but it will be using engineered metal buildings,” Watts told the court.
The total cost of the renovation is expected to top $700,000, Watts said. A fundraising campaign will be launched, and he has already heard of interest in supporting the effort from local businesses and industry.
WICKLAND REPAIRS. Fiscal Court approved the second phase of the renovation project on the smaller historic home on the Wickland estate.
The project will rebuild a two-story addition on the home to replace the one destroy by fire. The total costs of Phase 1 and 2 will total $97,355.
ROAD PAVING REQUESTS. The court approved a request from Magistrate Jerry Hahn to repave approximately 13,000 feet of Plum Run Road starting on the Fairfield end and totaling $106,360. The court also approved paving requests from Bernard Ice for sections of Clear Creek Drive, Lick Creek and all of Hugh Ice Loop totaling $140,868
In other business, the court:
— approved a proclamation for Older Americans Month which called on senior citizens to improve their health with regular exercise.
— approved the Local Government Economic Assistance agreement that provides the county with a share of the mineral tax revenues on rock that is mined in the county, which amounts to $160,000 to $200,000 a year.
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— re-appointed Bonnie Cecil and Kathleen Hertel-Baker to the Nelson County Public Library board of trustees.
— appointed Rob Graf to the Nelson County Comission on Human Rights.
— the court reviewed and discussed the proposed 2018-19 county budget.
NEXT UP. Nelson Fiscal Court meets next at 9 a.m. Tuesday, June 5, 2018, in the Fiscal Court meeting room on the second floor of the Old Courthouse.
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