A battle’s brewing around Chautauqua’s old amphitheater
Controversy continues over its developer
Residents saw major changes this year at Chautauqua, a lakeside summer retreat in western New York that draws more than 100,000 visitors, including many Western Pennsylvanians, for cultural and religious programs.
After the nine-week season ended in August, the wooden roof of a 123-year-old amphitheater came down on Sept. 14, and the national historic landmark was dismantled. About 15 percent of the old amp’s wood and steel will be recycled and used in a new, open-air amphitheater slated to open next June, said John Shedd, director of operations at Chautauqua.
But that is small consolation to Brian Berg, a longtime Chautauquan who led the fight to save the landmark.
“America’s values and ideals were shaped and defined on that stage in the amp,” Mr. Berg said.
With the help of his staff, Tom Becker, president of the nonprofit Chautauqua Institution, raised $41.5 million toward the cost of building and maintaining the new amphitheater, designed to be a replica of the original.
A possible problem with the project emerged last month when three high-ranking executives of LPCiminelli, the Buffalo-based developer and construction firm serving as the general contractor on the amphitheater, were indicted Sept. 22 in federal court in New York. The three men are charged with conspiracy and bribery in connection with building a solar panel factory in Buffalo.
Louis Ciminelli, founder and CEO of LPCiminelli, along with executives Michael Laipple and Kevin Schuler, face up to 20 years in prison if convicted. All three men, who have pleaded not guilty, were charged, along with two former aides to Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
“The company hasn’t been indicted,” Mr. Becker said, adding
that Chautauqua has never dealt with the LPCiminelli principals.
“They’ve done excellent work for us,” he said.
Don Friedman, a Pittsburgh political consultant who owns a condominium at Chautauqua, said he was disappointed about the lack of transparency at Chautauqua, especially in discussions about whether to preserve the old amp or build a new one. The institution, he said, should have held an architectural competition before building a new, costly amphitheater.
“They hired a construction firm whose three principals were arrested and brought to jail,” Mr. Friedman said, adding that that news was discouraging, “at the critical stage of the construction project. I’m sure they are bonded, but it’s a matter of timing. Everything has to fall into place exactly for this to be done.”
Mr. Becker, who arrived at Chautauqua in 1985 as vice president of development, retires at the end of this year, ending a 13-year term as president of the nonprofit Chautauqua Institution. A search firm was hired to find his successor, and Mr. Becker predicted that a new president will be in place by January.
During the summer, 74 musicians who make up the seasonal Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra authorized a strike. Both sides met with a federal mediator but were unable to reach an agreement. Mr. Becker said Chautauqua offered musicians an 11.4 percent raise over four years and would keep the number of players and performances the same.
Rick Evans, a fourth-generation Chautauquan and attorney who represents the musicians, said the Chautauqua’s Symphony Orchestra once had 84 musicians and that the institution wants to reduce the current head count from 74 to 70.
“Our demand was for roughly 5 percent pay increases per year, which matches the pay increases our president, Tom Becker, has received for the past several years. He earns $323,000 a year,” Mr. Evans said.
Mr. Becker led two capital campaigns, including the Promise Campaign, a sixyear initiative that raised $98.2 million to be invested in the institution's programs, people and physical plant.
David Steele, a Chicagobased architect who writes for a Buffalo blog called buffalorising.com, said tearing down the amp was a mistake because, “people go there for the history and the ambience of the place. It’s not a Disneyland experience.“