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A theme park developer is telling investors he is optimistic the Johnson County Commission will approve the controversial Wonderful World of Oz, in part, because of "close personal relationships" between an Oz lawyer and commission members.

Oz developer Robert Kory also said his private meeting with Commissioner Annabeth Surbaugh, the swing vote on the deadlocked panel, left him "encouraged" the project will advance.

John Petersen addresses the Johnson County Commission on behalf of the Oz Entertainment Co. Last month, Petersen and Oz developer Robert Kory had lunch with Johnson County Commissioner Annabeth Surbaugh, the swing vote on a panel weighing whether to allow Oz to build its theme park in DeSoto. Kory has since characterized the lunch as "encouraging" for Oz's chances. Surbaugh said the assessment was "premature."

"He's putting his own spin on it," Surbaugh said of her March 15 meeting with Oz developer Robert Kory and Oz attorney John Petersen at Jury's Inn, an Olathe restaurant.

But two weeks later, Kory cited the meeting in a March 29 report to company investors. The Journal-World obtained a copy.

"Commissioner Surbaugh asked to have a private meeting with me and the new lawyer working on the project, John Petersen. During this private meeting, she proposed that the (commission) appoint three qualified Johnson County residents, acceptable to us, to oversee the County feasibility review."

Earlier this week, Surbaugh announced she wants the $100,000 review financed by the county to validate Oz Entertainment Co.'s financial standing, attendance and income projections, and infrastructure costs.

The analysis is the subject of a commission meeting at 1 p.m. today.

During their March 15 meeting, Kory said he and Petersen were assured Surbaugh's earlier opposition to the $861-million Oz project near DeSoto in western Johnson County was not absolute. He told investors he thinks the commission will approve the park, possibly by September.

An hour before the restaurant meeting, Surbaugh had voted against it, causing a 2-2 deadlock. The commission then voted 3-1 to spend up to $100,000 on an independent review of Oz feasibility and how it would affect Johnson County taxes.

The meeting was one of several events, Kory said, that cause company officials to be "encouraged that the project will be approved. "

Contacted Wednesday, Surbaugh said Kory's optimism is premature. And their meeting, she said, was more spontaneous than private.

"I had no idea that we were going to approve an independent study you could have knocked me over with a feather," Surbaugh said. "So after the meeting, I wanted the Oz people to understand what my rules were going to be, and I wanted them to know upfront," Surbaugh said.

After learning Kory and Petersen were having lunch at Jury's Inn, a popular eatery across from the Johnson County Courthouse, Surbaugh said she went there to talk to them.

Surbaugh said she told Kory and Petersen that while she doubted some of OEC's claims, her mind was not made up and that if certain conditions were met, she could change her vote.

Those conditions, she said, include making sure the county hires consultants for the analysis with no past, present or future ties to OEC, and that they will have full and easy access to OEC's books.

Surbaugh said she initiated the meeting because there was no point in going ahead with the analysis, if OEC wasn't going to meet her conditions.

"Anybody who knows me will tell you I tend to be very frank and honest," Surbaugh said. "I want people to know where I'm coming from right from the beginning. I'm not for Oz, I'm not against Oz, but up to this point, I've not had enough information reliable information to make me vote 'yes.'"

In his letter to investors, Kory said Petersen will represent OEC in its negotiations with county officials.

"John has very close personal relationships with members of the (county commission) and officials at the state level," he wrote. "We believe John will be helpful in managing the next push for a favorable vote."

Petersen is well connected. He was then-U.S. Sen. Bob Dole's deputy chief of staff for four years in the mid 1980s. He was chief legal counsel for former Gov. Mike Hayden for two years.

Surbaugh called him "probably the best zoning, land-use attorney in Johnson County."

Petersen, who has represented OEC off and on the past four years, said he will not act as the company's lobbyist.

"I don't consider myself a lobbyist," he said. "I'm a development attorney. My job is to get the facts out on the table and to explain the law."

Kory said, in his report to investors, that OEC's strategy "now is to seize the opportunity for consensus and work with John Petersen so that all the commissioners can be perceived as winners with a favorable vote on our project.

"We have told the Commissioners that we are more than willing to work with them to resolve this final issue. We have also stated, however, that we may need Commissioners to affirm their position privately with key stakeholders in the project, including the Army, GSA (General Services Administration), Salomon Smith Barney and representative shareholders in OEC."

Oz developers plan their park at the site of the defunct Sunflower Army Ammunition Plant, which has been declared surplus by the Army and GSA.