A library/museum dedicated to the life and career of Earl Hamner Jr., creator of "The Waltons," could be coming to Explore Park.

The proposal was unveiled Tuesday as part of a Plan B for the park, now that its five-year agreement with developer Larry Vander Maten has dissolved after a lack of funding stalled his plans for a large-scale park, complete with a gondola ride and a zip line, that he called "Blue Ridge America."

The park's governing board, the Virginia Recreational Facilities Authority, met Tuesday for an update on where plans go now, which include a wide range of other proposed uses for the 1,100-acre park, straddling the Roanoke County and Bedford County line.

K.C. Bratton, an authority member and chairman of the separate Explore Park Economic Consortium, said details of the deal with Hamner have not been finalized, but that the award-winning writer has agreed to house his library at the park, in part because of its proximity to the Blue Ridge Parkway.

"The Waltons" ran for nine seasons, becoming an iconic family drama about a boy -- based loosely on Hamner -- growing up during the Depression and desperately wanting to escape the poverty of the Virginia mountains.

Hamner reportedly wants the "library and film center" not only to house his papers and other memorabilia, but also to provide an interactive experience, with an emphasis on encouraging young people to learn about filmmaking.

The project had a serendipitous start when the park's part-time executive director, Debbie Pitts, "was approached by a local nursing home for permission to shoot a commercial in the park," Bratton said.

"The producer has a long-standing relationship with Mr. Hamner and his family. Debbie seized upon the moment to indicate that Explore Park would love to work with Mr. Hamner in any way that he would like to work with us. Mr. Hamner followed up by offering us the rights to his library, provided we can come to an agreement."

Pitts said Hamner "is excited by the opportunity ... [and] doesn't want a dusty museum, but an active library with programs there."

He also wants some of his siblings and other family members who still live in the region to participate in the project.

Hamner, who could not be reached for comment Tuesday, would "provide artifacts and items for the library, with a focus on Blue Ridge history," Pitts said. The board may have to negotiate with Warner Bros., which owns rights to "The Waltons," for permission to use some images from the series or even use a reproduction of the TV home facade "for any type of building we might put up."

Best known here for "The Waltons" TV series, and "Spencer's Mountain" -- the 1961 semiautobiographical novel on which the show was based -- Hamner, 87, has written and produced numerous other works.

After service in Europe in World War II, Hamner returned to college and wrote his first novel. Soon he was making a living writing radio scripts for NBC.

He later turned to television -- he wrote several episodes of "The Twilight Zone" -- and movies.

It wasn't immediately clear how the creation of a Hamner library at Explore would affect the existing Walton's Mountain Museum in the Nelson County community of Schuyler, across the street from Hamner's boyhood home.

Created in 1992 and housed in a former school, it has replicas of John-Boy's on-screen bedroom, photographs and assorted other memorabilia related to Hamner and the TV show.

Among the details still to be worked out with Hamner, Pitts said, "we need to talk more about how we would finance the project -- how much he is willing to contribute to the construction of a building or contribute to fundraising for the building."

The authority will make final decisions later about that and other specific proposals from the consortium for a rejuvenated Explore Park.

Those include recommendations for continued rentals of existing properties for weddings, reunions and business meetings; the reopening of Brugh Tavern; and seeking out operators for various outdoor recreation activities such as bicycling, rope climbing, fishing, canoeing and camping.

The only recommendation that seemed to fall flat with the board members was for a water park -- something Bratton said was speculative, at best.

The consortium is recommending reopening the so-called living history portions of the park -- with 18th- and 19th-century buildings including a grist mill, school and barn -- but without interpreters. Instead, guests would be guided by kiosks or recordings.

The consortium also suggested moving ahead with negotiations with a developer who is interested in building rental cabins, creating a retail shop -- perhaps with Appalachian crafts and other regional goods -- in the Taubman Center, and looking into selling rights to cellphone tower sites.

Those are needed particularly on the Bedford County side of the property, Bratton said, and he showed a photograph demonstrating how "stealth" cell towers can be placed almost invisibly in wooded areas.