Orange : City Street Fair Undergoing Audit

The city is conducting a financial audit of the Orange International Street Fair in response to charges by some former street fair board members of mismanagement.

Everett Caldwell, former treasurer of the fair, alleged that there was “mismanagement of the nonprofit corporation’s assets” by some committee board members during the 1990 Labor Day weekend event.

Caldwell, owner of Mr. C’s records, resigned in December over the alleged mismanagement. His resignation letter to the city charged that unspecified violations of the fair’s bylaws could “strip the corporation of its (nonprofit) status.”

Caldwell had gone to Senior City Atty. Luis Rodriguez in September to express his concerns, according to the letter. Caldwell refused to comment further on his resignation.

The day Caldwell resigned, Adele Graves, a former president of the street fair committee, submitted a letter to Mayor Gene Beyer that echoed Caldwell’s concerns and outlined “questionable actions” by board member Gail Hewitt and the board president, Al Ricci, including concerns that they used some of the fair’s activities for personal financial gain.

Despite these complaints, earlier this month the City Council reappointed Ricci and Hewitt to the fair’s board.

“They’ve done a good job in the past, and we have nothing that says that something illegal has occurred,” Beyer said. “But we’re looking into the allegations, and we take them very seriously.”

The financial audit, conducted by the accounting firm of Moreland & Associates, should be completed by April 30, according to Assistant City Manager Jim Evans. Further investigation, including a management audit, may follow.

Hewitt and Ricci have denied any wrongdoing. “It’s frustrating to me because I am a volunteer and I thought I did a good job,” Ricci said. “And then when it’s all over all I get is this.”

The street fair was founded in 1973 as a fund-raiser for dozens of nonprofit service groups and was later incorporated as a nonprofit corporation. Each Labor Day weekend it attracts visitors from throughout the county. Last year, 450,000 people attended.

Although technically independent and run primarily by volunteers, the fair operates only with the consent and cooperation of the city of Orange. The city appoints four of the fair’s nine board members and city employees dominate the blue-ribbon committee that helps coordinate the event. In addition, a staff liaison was recently hired by the city to help in coordinating efforts.

The city’s involvement prompted 11 volunteer members of the fair committee to resign last year. The volunteers contended that the city had too much control over the nonprofit corporation.