FOUNTAIN VALLEY : Mayor Sees Green in O.C.’s Debt to City : Update : Follow-up on the news
Bankrupt Orange County still owes the city money, and officials say they’ll settle for payment in an unusual form: two golf courses at Mile Square Park.
Mayor Guy Carrozzo said that the county owes the city about $6 million of the $30 million that Fountain Valley and its redevelopment agency had in the county investment pool when it collapsed in December.
Carrozzo said the golf courses are valued at about $8 million.
“We would give the county the price difference and take over the golf courses,” he said. “Their obligation to us then would be wiped out, and they would get $2 million on top of that--money they can give to other agencies they owe.”
Because the city would no longer be in line for money owed, Carrozzo said, other cities and agencies could be repaid sooner.
Such a move would not be unheard of, the mayor said, noting that other cities have expressed interest in buying county-owned properties within their communities. Such proposals, he said, are a “natural win-win opportunity.”
County officials were not available Friday to comment on the golf course proposal.
COMPILED MIMI KO CRUZ AND DEBRA CANO
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