Court Approves Port District Debt Plan

A federal bankruptcy court in Santa Barbara has approved a plan that will allow the Ventura Port District to begin to pay off more than $22 million in debt.

Judge Robin Riblet’s decision Tuesday paves the way for the sale of $15.2 million in revenue bonds by the district, with most of the proceeds going to pay creditors, said Edward G. Wohlenberg, general manager of the port district.

Port officials contacted bond experts in September to hash out a plan to retire their debt. The experts suggested selling 30-year revenue bonds to be repaid from the district’s revenue, which includes leases at the harbor.

The bulk of the debt is owed to Ventura Group Ventures, which in 1991 won a $15.7-million breach-of-contract court judgment after the district pulled out of a development project at Ventura Harbor, which the district owns and operates.

Other debts include $4 million owed to the California Department of Boating and Waterways for four loans issued since 1968.

“This is indeed a great day,” Wohlenberg said. “The best news is that with the bankruptcy behind us, the district can begin again.”

Port officials filed for Chapter 9 bankruptcy Aug. 20, 1993. In January, they filed a business plan with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Santa Barbara, detailing how the port intends to pay off the money it owes.

After that plan was filed, an idea to hand a share of the port’s net operating revenues to creditors over the next 30 years was shot down.

The plan approved by Riblet will distribute about $7.8 million to Ventura Group Ventures and other creditors, with $950,000 going to the Department of Boating and Waterways to partially pay off the loans.

About $1.5 million from the revenue bond sale will be used for needed capital improvements at the harbor, officials said.