City gets paid by Adelphia
by Chris Wilson

Ojai City Council members agreed to toss in an additional $30,000 in a joint effort to fund upgrades to the Libbey Park tennis courts at their Tuesday meeting. But the extra spending didn't come easily.
City staff bid expectations fell thousands of dollars short of the $280,052 lowest responsible bid by Malibu Pacific Tennis Courts.
Since this upgrade is a collaborative effort between the council, Ojai Civic Association and the Ojai Tennis Club, Public Works Director Stan Hakes told the council that the additional $30,000 is a part of the city's commitment to pay one-third of the total cost of the project. The extra money, he said, will hopefully inspire the other involved funders to cough up more money for the project.
Confusion arose when Councilwoman Rae Hanstad said she could not vote positively for the project, and extra spending, because of prior concern that the park's electrical infrastructure could not handle the proposed lighting of the courts.
Councilwoman Sue Horgan was absent from the meeting and Mayor Pro Tem Joe DeVito recused himself from the decision because he serves on the board of directors of the Tennis Club. This left only Councilman David Bury and Mayor Steve Olsen to vote "yes" for the project, causing it to fail.
After City Attorney Monte Widders explained that DeVito's recusal in effect created a tie vote, and City Manager Dan Singer reminded Hanstad that the city was only paying for court resurfacing, fencing and sidewalk improvements - lighting is to be funded entirely by the Civic Association - the council reopened the item and passed it unanimously.
In all, five tennis courts will be resurfaced and other improvements will be made to the area around the courts. After Public Works gets further information on the additional funding from the other two sources, a contract will likely be awarded.
In other council news, local cable subscribers may have more time to play evening tennis if Adelphia Cable's recent bankruptcy affects service.
General Services Director Carol Fox prepared a report to let the council and public be aware the city staff and attorney's are working diligently to protect Ojai's interests during the cable companyís chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization.
Lawyer Peter Lemmon of the City Attorney's office told the council that Adelphia's recent accounting scandal led to the bankruptcy which gives the city the freedom to disengage from the franchise agreement, though he didn't recommend it. Adelphia, he said, has committed to continue providing service while they go through reorganization.
He recommended the city pursue forming a creditor's committee that could seek approval from the New York judge, where the bankruptcy was filed, to monitor the facts, influence the direction of the case and the recovery of money owed by creditors.
Also of concern is monitoring whether the city will continue to receive its franchise fees from Adelphia, which were reported to have been written on invalid accounts. In March the city received franchise fees of $35,648 from Adelphia and the next payment is due in October.
A bankruptcy trustee has approved the use of new accounts to meet Adelphia's commitments, including franchise fees. Fox said she would be willing to receive phone calls and e-mails from citizens concerned about the cable company's bankruptcy.

© 2002 The Ojai Valley News

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