Commissioners authorize second video lottery variance
Producers seek funding for ‘Blennerhassetts’ documentary
Attorney George Cosenza, right, speaks about a request for a variance allowing his client to open a video lottery establishment at 49 61st St. outside of Vienna during a Wood County Commission meeting Monday at the Judge Black Annex in downtown Parkersburg. (Photo by Evan Bevins)
MotionMasters founder Diana Sole Walko, right, discusses progress on the Blennerhassetts documentary she is writing and executive producing, as videographer Wesley Poole and senior producer Diane Dimoff listen during a Wood County Commission meeting Monday at the Judge Black Annex in downtown Parkersburg. (Photo by Evan Bevins)
Attorney George Cosenza, right, speaks about a request for a variance allowing his client to open a video lottery establishment at 49 61st St. outside of Vienna during a Wood County Commission meeting Monday at the Judge Black Annex in downtown Parkersburg. (Photo by Evan Bevins)
MotionMasters founder Diana Sole Walko, right, discusses progress on the Blennerhassetts documentary she is writing and executive producing, as videographer Wesley Poole and senior producer Diane Dimoff listen during a Wood County Commission meeting Monday at the Judge Black Annex in downtown Parkersburg. (Photo by Evan Bevins)
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PARKERSBURG -- Three weeks after rescinding a variance for a video lottery establishment, the Wood County Commission approved one for the same machines at a new location.
Commissioners voted 2-1, with Commission President Blair Couch opposed, to allow Hi-Lad Inc. to open the business at 49 61st St., Vienna, outside the city limits.
Hi-Lad President Greg Hicks is moving the machines from a Charleston-area location that closed and originally wanted to put them in a new building on Waverly Road just outside Williamstown. The commission approved that variance in February but rescinded it earlier this month after residents raised concerns about safety and the impact on property values. It was also learned that youth soccer fields were within 1,000 feet of the site.
"Mr. Hicks went ahead and spent a considerable amount of money" preparing the Williamstown site, said attorney George Cosenza, who is representing Hi-Lad. While Cosenza said he understands the reasons for the change, his client only has a limited amount of time to move his machines to a new site.
The variance is needed because the building is within 1,000 feet of homes, which the county's ordinance does not allow without a variance.
Cosenza noted the property is zoned commercial and, while there are homes nearby, there is no direct access to them from the building where the machines would be placed.
"This certainly is a better location," Couch said.
Couch said he always opposes variances for video lottery establishments.
"I like the idea of less machines, not more," he said.
The commissioners also heard from the company making a documentary about the lives of Harmon and Margaret Blennerhassett, the namesakes of Blennerhassett Island.
Charleston-based MotionMasters, which produced West Virginia-centric documentaries on the late Sen. Robert C. Byrd and the oil and gas industry, has completed most production work, with an interview with Campus Martius historian Bill Reynolds slated for Monday. As they move into the post-production phase, they're seeking an additional $115,000 to complete the hour-long project, which is expected to air on West Virginia public television, said Diana Sole Walko, MotionMasters founder and writer/executive producer on "The Blennerhassetts."
The Blennerhassetts' ties to Aaron Burr, who was tried and acquitted of treason in 1807, expand the scope of the story beyond the region, she said.
"The story is very interesting, of course, in American history, which is why I think it has a broadcast appeal outside the state of West Virginia," Sole Walko said. "This story is when this young nation defined what treason was."
Post-production needs include hiring a narrator, voice actors, editing the project, commissioning an original music track and securing rights to historical documents and images.
Contributors to the production already include the Blennerhassett Historical Foundation, Bernard McDonough Foundation, United Bank and the Greater Parkersburg Convention and Visitors Bureau. Commissioners said they would like to contribute as well and plan to make a decision on that at Thursday's meeting. Couch said he hopes the documentary will spur interest in people visiting the area.
"I think there's no question it will be an economic driver because it's going to be broadcast multiple times a year," Sole Walko said.