Flynn Calls for Tough New Law on Contracts

Responding to complaints that the county has hired a contractor cited repeatedly for illegal dumping, Supervisor John K. Flynn said Tuesday he will propose an ordinance barring environmental lawbreakers from doing business with county government.

Flynn’s announcement came hours after environmentalists turned out at a board meeting to criticize the county’s business relationship with Somis-based contractor Tom A. Staben. Despite citing him three times for illegal dumping since 1993, the county awarded Staben about $2.3 million in public works contracts over the same period.

The supervisor said he is troubled not only by the accusations against Staben, but by Public Works Director Art Goulet’s comments this week suggesting illegal dumping and public works violations are not high priorities for the district attorney.

“It really looks like they’re above the law, and no one is above the law,” Flynn said. “I really do not approve of Art Goulet’s comments. For the county to suggest no wrongdoing took place is a mistake.”

Staben is now working under a $994,000 contract to fix a collapsed embankment along the Ventura River near Ojai. In that project, both he and the county Public Works Department are under investigation by federal regulators for allegedly excavating tons of silt from the river without proper federal authorization. Regulators say the digging may have damaged a migration channel used by endangered steelhead trout.

Meanwhile, county code and environmental health investigators have accused Staben of dumping cars, huge piles of dirt and appliances into a Somis stream bed. Staben was unavailable for comment.

At Tuesday’s meeting, environmentalists expressed dismay at the apparent disregard of the violations.

“We laughingly call it the Somis temporary landfill,” said Roy Ash, who lives near the dump site. He said trucks have rumbled through the neighborhood, spilling mounds of dirt.

“There was a huge cloud of dirt, almost like a mushroom cloud, and boulders the size of my head were rolling into my driveway,” said Ash, a member of the group Save Our Somis. “We hope the dump will go away, because we will not.”

Another angry resident, Diane Perren of Ventura, took aim at the repeated contracts with Staben.

“I find this disturbing and irresponsible,” Perren said. “How much taxpayer money are we going to spend . . . on this ill-conceived awarding of contracts?”

Supervisor Frank Schillo joined Flynn in calling for tough new contracting regulations. “We need to do it, and we need to do it quickly,” Schillo said. “I’ve had complaints about this guy, and I continue to hear, ‘We can’t do anything about it.’ That is not a good answer.”

Supervisors Susan Lacey and Kathy Long were unavailable for comment. Supervisor Judy Mikels could not be reached after Flynn’s announcement, but said earlier she doubts the county could do much to toughen its contracting process. She suggested the county aggressively pursue the code cases against Staben, but questioned whether moving to bar certain contractors from county business is a good idea.

“I think it’s a bit of an overreaction,” she said.

But both Flynn and Schillo have expressed frustration that County Counsel James McBride has advised them that state law requires the county to hire the “lowest responsible bidder.” The county defines “responsible” as having a contractor’s license, insurance and other documents. And Staben, who met those standards, has put in low bids, officials said.

Legal experts, however, say the county has broader discretion in defining what “responsible” means. The definition may encompass past performance on county jobs, safety violations and other factors, said Esteban Lizardo, a Los Angeles attorney specializing in government contracts.

“This county can definitely do more,” Lizardo said.

Schillo recommended hiring an outside attorney specializing in environmental law to draw up the proposed ordinance.

That ordinance, Flynn suggested, should not only bar contractors previously cited for environmental violations. It should, he said, include language to bar contractors who violate minimum wage laws.

Also, Flynn said he will request that experts review state contracting law to determine whether a more strict interpretation of the term “responsible” is possible. He said he plans to bring the issue to the board in July.

Meanwhile, Goulet said Tuesday his department is preparing a restoration plan for the Ventura River bed and closely monitoring the completion of Staben’s work.

Goulet stood by his comments on the district attorney’s office.

“The facts are the facts,” Goulet said. “Ask them how many public works projects have they prosecuted. I’ll call and talk to [local prosecutors], because if they want to have a higher profile in the issues we deal with, we welcome them.

“My staff feels like paper tigers,” Goulet added. “We write lots of letters [to contractors], and try to jawbone them into compliance.”

But Deputy Dist. Atty. Michael Frawley said prosecutors take environmental issues very seriously.

“We in no way give this any kind of low priority,” Frawley said. “In fact, we have a reputation for being very vigilant. All it takes is for someone to present us with evidence.

“So he is at all times invited to present us with evidence of criminal wrongdoing, and we will at all times follow up on it.”