Fair Board Restarts Search for Firm to Run Swap Meet

The Orange County Fair Board decided Thursday to start from scratch in determining who should operate the fairgrounds’ lucrative weekend swap meet for the next 10 years.

The decision capped a tense, four-hour meeting that featured a parade of vendors and community leaders supporting operator Tel Phil Enterprises, whose founder, Robert Teller, created the Costa Mesa swap meet 34 years ago and has run it since.

Fair board President Ruben Smith said the process had been complicated by procedural issues raised by Tel Phil and the only other bidder, American Park ‘n Swap, a subsidiary of concession giant Delaware North of Buffalo, N.Y.

In rejecting both bids, the board delayed adopting a new contract until at least January. Tel Phil has operated the Orange County Market Place on an interim basis since May 1, when the current contract expired.

“If we went forward, it would end up in litigation one way or another,” said Smith, an attorney. “We thought it would be best for the taxpayers to just start over.”

Jeff Teller, Tel Phil’s president, was clearly disappointed. His attorneys asked the board to stand by its rejection in April of American’s bid for failing to include a required corporate document. After the company protested, a state reviewer recommended waiving the oversight and scoring the bids.

“The board did what they thought was best,” Teller said. “The public was very clear on how they felt. We would really like to get back to running our business.”

A new bidding process will allow Delaware North to emphasize its corporate strengths, said Jeremy M. Jacobs Jr., executive vice president of the family-owned conglomerate.

In its new bid, the company would stress its commitment to community groups, which had been weighing in the Tellers’ favor, he said. “There are a few things we may want to add or address in our [new] proposal,” Jacobs said. “Everything has to start fresh.”

Though neither bid was opened, Delaware North attorneys alleged in court papers that their proposal would have brought in $12.4 million more to the fair board over five years, based on the Teller’s current contract.

Tel Phil pays the Orange County Fair 35% of its gross receipts, which amounted to $4.5 million last year. American offered 50%.

The board reportedly was evenly split between the bidders, with three favoring Teller, three leaning toward American and the other three undecided. However, board member Frank Barbaro, who favored Teller, recused himself from future deliberations on the contract because he owns a company that sells concert tickets at the weekend swap meet.

The Orange County Market Place is considered the Rolls-Royce of swap meets because of the quality and quantity of vendors and the array of wares sold there. It has grown from Teller’s Treasures and Trash to an extensive open-air mall, with 4 square miles of walking room for 1,200 vendors in 1,500 spaces.

The swap meet operates 48 weekends a year. It will resume Aug. 9 after the Orange County Fair, which begins a three-week run today.

The outdoor shopping mall is a big moneymaker for the 32nd Agricultural District, which owns and operates the fairgrounds. It accounted for about 25% of the district’s total revenue last year and some years has contributed more than a third.