Operator of Child Center Defies Eviction

The operator of a child care center refused to move from the Rea Community Center in Costa Mesa this week despite an eviction deadline.

Karolyn Herbert, who operates Karol’s Kids in the municipal center, defied the city’s order that she move out by Tuesday, and her attorney said Herbert will fight the eviction in court if necessary.

Herbert said the day care program, which has operated in a room at the community center for five years, has 27 children and caters to low-income, divorced parents. Tuition ranges from $22 to $50 per week, based on the parents’ ability to pay.

The dispute began, both sides agree, when Herbert was late last January with part of her $230 rent payment to the city. In an agreement with the city, Herbert said she paid the money in June.

Councilwoman Mary Hornbuckle said Herbert told the city that she could not make rent payments by the first of the month and asked that the monthly due date be pushed back.

“We made the monthly due date the 15th, then it wasn’t coming until the end of the month,” Hornbuckle said.

She said the eviction resulted from “an accumulation of oversights and poor business practices.”

Herbert’s attorney, Jim Ripley, said she may have “agitated” some city employees by neglecting to answer phone calls and letters advising her of overdue rent.

“She should have been more tactful, but she wasn’t,” Ripley said. “Our response will be that it was an eviction strictly for retaliation. The bottom line is that these people had a dispute over nothing, should apologize to each other and go about their business.”

According to the terms of the lease, either party is allowed to end the agreement with a 60-day notice.

The state Department of Social Services has cited Karol’s Kids for what it called “deficiencies,” including failure to file staff members’ fingerprints, failure to pay penalties, and, in one case, inadequate supervision of a sick child.

Assistant City Atty. Eleanor Frey said the city plans to seek a court-ordered eviction.

“The problem is that the relationship has deteriorated to the point that we feel it’s best to terminate it,” Frey said. “She has no agreement with us to occupy the property.”

Hornbuckle said she and other city officials had approved a $5,000 social services grant for the child care center “with reservations, hoping that it would help her meet the rent.”

Hornbuckle said that by the time the money was available in July, Herbert’s record was so poor the money was withheld.

“She did not respond when staff attempted to communicate with her about late rent,” Hornbuckle said. “We have many written communications from the city to Herbert, but not many from her back to the city.”

Herbert, however, said she has tried to negotiate with the city repeatedly and “they just won’t talk to us.”