Lawyers Reportedly Hired in Spill Probe

City Councilwomen Elois Zeanah and Linda Parks have hired their own defense attorneys to represent them in the U.S. attorney’s criminal probe into a massive sewage spill, according to a memorandum written by the city attorney.

According to the memo prepared by Thousand Oaks City Atty. Mark Sellers, Zeanah has retained the Los Angeles firm of McCutchen, Doyle, Brown & Enerson, and Parks has signed on with Quinn, Emanuel, Urquhart, Oliver & Hedges, also from Los Angeles. Sellers is suggesting the City Council cover $50,000 in legal expenses for each councilwoman.

Thousand Oaks is the subject of state and federal probes over an 86-million-gallon sewer spill in February. Investigators are looking to determine whether city officials were negligent in not preventing the spill.

Some have contended the spill could have been averted had Zeanah, Parks and a former councilwoman voted for rate increases during a two-year sewer plant upgrade.

In the meantime, the councilwomen have contended the replacement of vulnerable sewer lines was improperly included in a larger project. They also say the pipeline was scheduled for replacement a decade before the sewer impasse began.

Zeanah declined to talk about the pending litigation. But she added, “Our counsel had strongly advised all council members to get their own attorneys. Linda and I are just the first to do so.”

She also questioned the city attorney’s motives for putting the item on the open section of the council agenda.

“I am stunned the city attorney has made this on the agenda for open discussion when it has been our consistent policy to discuss this sort of thing in closed session,” she said.

Reached by telephone, Parks said she was late for a meeting and could not comment.