YOUNGSTOWN PLAYHOUSE Attorney warns board of pending lawsuit

The lawyer laid out the reasons he thought a July 19 meeting was illegal.
By GARRY CLARK
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
CANFIELD -- Atty. David Betras said Wednesday that he is offering the Youngstown Playhouse board of directors one last chance before he files a lawsuit.
The lawsuit would be filed in the name of Lynn Kirkwood of Boardman in behalf of 75 of 300 season ticket holders from last season.
At a news conference at his office here, Betras said that the July 19 meeting held by the board was not legal.
"I'm going to give them until Monday or Tuesday of next week," Betras said. "[Then] we're going to ask that the court order them to hold another meeting." He also said that the board members will be sued individually.
"What does the current board of the Playhouse have to fear by holding such a meeting? Our position is that the July 19 meeting was nothing more than a dress rehearsal with the real meeting to come," Betras said
He said that among the reasons the July 19 meeting was illegal is that that the board at that time consisted of only eight members although Playhouse bylaws require 13. The board now numbers seven in the wake of president John Maluso's resignation July 29.
Other issues
In question also, according to Betras and the Save Our Stage Committee, is the organization's not-for-profit status, how deeply in debt the Playhouse is, and whether it has lost its C1 and C2 beer- and wine-selling license due to failure to pay sales tax to the state.
Kirkwood, who has been involved at the Playhouse since 1968 and served on its board of director from 1994 to 2000, said that, though she is not a member of the SOS Committee that has been calling for the board's resignation and the return of Bentley Lenhoff as executive director, she is working in conjunction with them in demanding that the board hold a "legal" annual meeting.
"I think the problem is ... that the board that's currently there is young and inexperienced," Kirkwood said, "and they need help."
Board member's hope
Contacted Wednesday afternoon, board member Atty. Anthony Donofrio stated that he hopes to open a dialogue between Bentley Lenhoff and the board.
"I think everyone on this board has a sincere interest in helping the Playhouse," he said from his office. "My intention when I joined the board was to help the Playhouse deal with the debt they've been incurring, and I've been doing that. All of this negative publicity is doing no good for the Playhouse.
"I just want to try and help mend the relationship between Mr. Lenhoff and the Playhouse, and hopefully we'll go from there," he added.
clark@vindy.com