Apr 15 14 12:42p PJ & Maggie Nied

(724) 2591608
p.1
Dear Friends & Supporters:
A lot has happened since we last wrote. The good news is that we have achieved much success to date, especially at
the township political level, where a truly professional group is now in control, including a new zoning officer, two
new supervisors, and the special solicitor who was recently hired specific-ally to follow through on Fox ley Farm
matters. Together, we believe that this group shares our commitment to enforce current zoning regulations
throughout the R2 zoning district without permitting favorable exceptions to individual property owners. We
expect our successes to be reinforced as the township takes additional steps to increase its professional management
with the imminent hiring of a township manager and the expansion of the board of supervisors to five members later
th:s year. As a result, we believe that we are now near the point where we can transition leadership of our three year
effort over to the township. This is not to say that the battle is over far from it. However, our mission from the
beginning was always about getting the township to enforce its laws for the protection of all property owners. We
now believe that on balance the township agrees with our position, and with continued vigorous support from all of
us, will take the- necessary erifcirtement actions ta preserve.the R2 district , especially in the Rt.711 South corridor.
Against these accomplishments, the township now faces threats from the Nieds' lender, Enterprise Bank, run by
Charles Leyh. As you will read in the enclosed Summary of Recent Events, the bank has threatened to sue the
township and the Nieds' neighbors in order to protect its commercial investment in Foxley Farm_ We believe this
could set a very dangerous precedent for us all especially those of us who live adjacent to properties that have
commercial potential if acquired by buyers with those intentions. Therefore, all of us need to provide continued
encouragement to the township in order to ensure that our hard-fought gains are preserved.
Despite the bank's high priced involVement, and despite the Township's initial indifference early on in the matter,
due in large part to your support we have prevailed thus far. We are confident that we will prevail again at the
upcoming Contempt hearing in April. We are proud of our successes which we believe benefit all of us who live in
Ligonier Township but they have come at great expense of time and money. Total legal costs soon will exceed
$150,000, of which our supporters have contributed just under 550,000. When we consider everything that has been
accomplished, the investment has been worth every penny, but our group (Greer, Korb, Thompson and Turner) has
put in the time and the overwhelming majority of the money to fund the effort, and we now need your financial
support more than ever_ Therefore, as proud as we are of our achievements, and as encouraged as we are about our
prospects, we seek your contributions to defray our costs. So if you can, please make your check payable to "Sittig,
Cortese & Wratcher t_l_C", referencing "Foxley Farm", and mail it to:
Sittig, Cortese & Wratcher LLC
437 Grant Street, Ste. 1500
Pittsburgh, PA 15219
Finally, a word about pigs. All of you should know that we have no objections whatsoever to the Nieds or anyone
else operating a farm even a pig farm. However, based on the Nieds' public pronouncements that up to 4,000 or
more pigs may be on their way to Foxley Farm, we will be working very closely with the appropriate authorities to
ensure that any large scale hog farming at Foxley Farm conforms with local and state regulations governing noise,
smell, and most importantly, water quality.
As always, on behalf of our group, we thank you for your interest and support.
Aptadi*000111041#1
klaggte_NILea

(724) 2591608 p2
Summary of Recent Events
1.
The Contempt of Court petition filed by Ligonier Township (at our urging) originally scheduled for last
December at the Westmoreland County Court was postponed, and postponed again, and is now scheduled
for April 146 1. The delays are directly attributable to the Nieds' inability or unwillingness to produce required
documents or be deposed. We think those hurdles are now behind us, but one never knows. The only good
news about the delays is that they inevitably provide the Nieds with more ways to damage their own cause,
including testimony at a recent public hearing to the effect that "farm to table" events are somehow exempt
from the April 2013 Consent Order's definition of an "event" (a gathering of "ten unrelated attendees").
According to the same testimony, the Nieds would like us to believe that "farm to table" now includes
commercial activities even when such events are catered by unknown caterers, serving food from unknown
sources.
2: As you may have seen reported in-the press, the Medi recently challenged the Township's denial of their
commercial occupancy permit application relating to two events, one a fundraiser and the other a wedding,
scheduled last December. Although only the wedding event actually occurred, the Nieds are trying to argue
that by obtaining a commercial occupancy permit they should be able to operate as they please despite the
fact that the R2 zoning district doesn't permit commercial activities. (If that doesn't make much sense to you,
then you have plenty of company.) Additionally, it is worth noting that those events, plus four others by our
count over the last six months, were beyond those permitted by the April 2013 Consent Order issued by the
Court an agreement which the Nieds helped create with representation by legal counsel.
3. Of great concern is the more recent involvement of the Nieds' lender, Enterprise Bank. Enterprise is
represented by Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney, which has submitted a "Right to Know" request to the
township seeking documents relating to "all occupancy permits, zoning approvals, permits or decisions and
zoning notices of violation" relating to several long-standing local institutions, including Rolling Rock Club,
Rolling Rock Farms, Hodge Farm-Sarosdy House, Ligonier Country Club, The Barn at Ligonier Valley, Southern
Alleghenies Museum of Art, Ligonier Camp & Conference Center, and others. As mentioned earlier,
Enterprise is run by Charles .Leyh, who initially appeared to have been surprised by many of the Nieds'
activities, including their disregard of the April 2013 Consent Order, the multiple safety violations identified
by Labor & InduStry, and the township's zoning ordinances. However/given that the bank standsto lose a lot
of money in the event that the Nieds default on their borrowings, Enterprise now seems intent on pushing
through changes to the township's zoning laws to accommodate the Nieds (and possibly other operators like
them). This strikes us as a desperate trolling expedition, but not one to be ignored. The reality is that the
Nieds' predicament is now the bank's predicament, and we expect a long andexpensive battle before they
understand that it is their client who has violated the laws of the township, and that the bank itself either
willingly cooperated with the Nieds in this effort, or simply ignored those same laws in order to make what
they expected would be a profitable loan.
TOTAL P.02