Just hours before it finally

assumed management of the Frederick Brown Jr. Amphitheater, the Peachtree

City Tourism Association fired amphitheater director Donna Romeo in a

closed, called meeting Sunday.

City Manager Bernard McMullen,

a founding officer on the PCTA Board, hand-delivered a letter to Romeo

Sunday night informing her of the decision not to carry over her employment

to the new board.

Romeo disclosed that tensions

existed between her and the board, mainly about her freedom to spend budgeted

funds without prior approval of the board.

Meanwhile, a selection committee

was to conduct interviews Tuesday to fill the amphitheater office manager

job left vacant by the Jan. 2 resignation of City Councilman Judi-ann

Rutherford.

Rutherford has reapplied for

the job, according to sources.

Also scheduled for an interview

was Cass Poolman, wife of Lee H. Poolman, who lost a runoff election to

Rutherford in the Post 1 City Council race last November.

Earlier Sunday, the PCTA Board

met in called executive session "for the purpose of discussing personnel

matters," according to the notice of the meeting sent to the media

via e-mail Saturday afternoon, barely 24 hours in advance as required

The board held a meeting Friday

to finalize personnel policy for workers at both the amphitheater and

Peachtree City Tennis Center and was expected to take on about a dozen

employees starting Jan. 19.

Technically, said McMullen,

Romeo was not "fired" because she was never legally an employee

of the PCTA. That would have changed at midnight Monday, however, which

hastened the Sunday meeting.

"When you're dealing

with personnel issues, it's much easier to deal with people when

they are not employees, as far as labor law goes," said McMullen.

Vice-Chair Murray Weed described

the decision as "difficult," adding, "We simply feel the

best decision for the operation of the amphitheater is to keep looking

for the best fit."

Otherwise, PCTA officers wouldn't

discuss the reasons for their decision but sources said there was growing

concern that Romeo wasn't cooperating fully with her new bosses.

Romeo did not deny there had

been growing tension over how to manage the concert facility. She said

the last straw came at Friday's meeting, when the PCTA officers proposed

a new process for approving expenses.

"They were telling me

that any expenses over $1,000 would have to go through Paul Salvatore

for approval," said Romeo Sunday night. "You approved my budget,

but you are telling me I have to get approval for any part of it I spend?"

"I saw the writing on

the wall, but I didn't respond to it well," she said. "I

don't deny I got angry and probably said something I shouldn't

have said, but what could I do?"

The timing was significant,

since contracts for five of the 10 acts scheduled to appear this summer

in the amphitheater's 10th Anniversary season were sitting on Romeo's

desk awaiting signatures.

Those contracts were signed

and mailed on Tuesday, McMullen said.

Also pending were contracts

with vendors and corporate sponsors. Romeo suggested in an e-mail to friends

and associates sent out Sunday night that her dismissal might nullify

all of those contracts.

McMullen denied that possibility

existed.

The 3-0 decision was made by

McMullen, Weed, and Salvatore, the city's finance director.

City Councilman and PCTA Chairman

Steve Rapson abstained from the discussion and vote, and officer David

Ring of the city's Recreation Commission was out of town and couldn't

be reached, McMullen said.

Romeo had worked at the amphitheater

for eight seasons, the past two as executive director. She replaced Kristi

Rapson, wife of Steve Rapson.

Kristi resigned in January

2002 and filed a federal equal pay discrimination lawsuit against the

Development Authority of Peachtree City, which managed the venue until

Nov. 30 of last year. The suit is still pending.

Councilman Rapson wouldn't

comment Monday on the Romeo decision, except that his wife had no intentions

of reapplying for the job

"This is no conspiracy,"

the councilman said Monday. "There's never been any motivation

on my part to see Kristi get this job. None of that was part of the equation,

none of that at all."

Weed expects quick action on

hiring the amphitheater office manager, the position vacated by Rutherford.

"The Board hopes that person could be hired as early as the end of

this week; thus, there should be no appreciable loss of service,"

Weed said.

Advertisement for a new director

will be posted next Monday, Weed said.

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