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Olathe — The chairman of the company that wants to build a theme park based on the story of Oz admits the company has had problems proving it is trustworthy.

The Johnson County Board of Commissioners last week tabled Oz Entertainment Co.'s proposal to develop the former 9,065-acre Sunflower Army Ammunition Plant near DeSoto into a small community.

The centerpiece of the community would be The Wonderful World of Oz, an $860.5 million, Disney-style theme park and resort about 25 miles from downtown Kansas City, Mo.

"One of my big concerns is our evident failure to inspire enough trust," said Robert Kory, chairman and founder of Oz Entertainment Co.

The proposal suffered a severe setback Nov. 6, when commissioners failed to approve the deal in a 2-2 vote. The tie effectively tabled the project indefinitely, though the plan could be revised and shown to commissioners again.

The company needs approval from the county and a state agency by July 2001.

"To the extent we go forward, it's critically important to me that we not fail to demonstrate absolute integrity and forthrightness," Kory said.

Although the company has earned support from many business groups, Kory said, it has made "political mistakes."

Commissioners Doug Wood and George Gross voted for the project. Commissioner Gary Anderson abstained because of a conflict of interest.

The two commissioners who opposed the project, Annabeth Surbaugh and Johnna Lingle, cited questions of trust.

Oz has been criticized for abandoning a proposed site in Wyandotte County after public agencies there gave it $775,000 for the project. The money has not been repaid.

Company officials also could not answer some key questions at a hearing this year and they failed to reveal some information until directly asked.

Kory agreed the company had made mistakes, but said they were not made out of a lack of integrity and they were corrected. He pointed out the company has worked to make the proposal amenable to the county. It agreed to clean up all environmental contamination at Sunflower and acquire all the land even though Oz originally wanted only a slice of the property, Kory said.

The cleanup would be guaranteed even if the park went under, and the company agreed to donate 2,828 acres of cleaned land to public agencies.

Executives plan to come up with a new strategy in the next week, said Oz board member Jo Bourjaily, though Kory said he didn't want to rush to decision.

The company could ask the commission to reconsider its vote. One of the opponents, Lingle, will not be in office after January. Her replacement, Susie Wolf of Shawnee, would not comment.

http://www.worldofoz.com

http://www.jocoks.com