Lawyer Reverses Self, Says KOCE Sales Notice Was OK

Reversing himself on an issue that could stop the sale of Orange County’s PBS affiliate, the attorney for the Coast Community College District said Tuesday that the public was given proper notice that the TV station was on the block.

Superior Court Judge Corey S. Cramin raised the question Monday at a hearing to determine if the district can sell KOCE-TV Channel 50 to a foundation controlled by Orange County business and civic leaders who have pledged to continue its affiliation with the Public Broadcasting System.

Daystar Television Network, the world’s second-largest Christian broadcaster, is challenging the sale, contending that it offered the best deal.

Milford Dahl, the attorney for the Coast Community College District, has said that if Cramin decided improper notice was given, he could order the station to be put up for sale again.

Dahl told the judge Monday that he didn’t believe the district had followed state Education Code rules on providing public notice. But after researching the issue Tuesday, Dahl changed course.

“It’s highly unlikely the judge will toss it on notice,” he said.

The key, he said, is whether Cramin rules the sale process that began in May 2002 was continuous or that there was a break and it restarted when the district hired Media Venture Partners in San Francisco to broker the sale.

Daystar’s attorney, Richard Lloyd Sherman, said his client wants the judge to order the district to sell the station to the Dallas-based company, not to order a new round of bidding. “We’d prefer to be found to be the highest bidder,” he said. “But if not, we’re prepared to bid against anyone.”

The Education Code requires that notices be posted in three public places in the district for at least two weeks, or once a week for two weeks in a newspaper that circulates in the district. The theory is that such notices will prevent secret deals.

Dahl said sale notices were posted June 21, 2002, at the three colleges that make up the district -- Coastline in Fountain Valley, Golden West in Huntington Beach and Orange Coast in Costa Mesa -- and remained there until October of that year.

The board received only one proposal, from the KOCE-TV Foundation, which it rejected in December. In January 2003, trustees hired a law firm to help with the sale and, a month later, retained the broker.

Elliot B. Evers, managing director of Media Venture Partners, placed ads in commercial journals and used his contacts to find bidders for the station.

The district has agreed to sell the station to the foundation for $28 million, which includes $8 million down and the rest to be paid over 30 years with no interest. No payments are due for the first five years.

Experts have valued the deal at $12.5 million to $19.5 million.

Daystar’s offer was $25.1 million cash.

The district rejected a Daystar offer of $40 million cash because it was submitted after the deadline.

Cramin could rule on the sale Monday, when the hearing resumes.

This week’s hearing, was dominated by attorneys arguing over which side offered the “highest-responsible bid,” as state law requires of the winning bidder, and whether “cash” means just that -- as Daystar argues -- or if it includes payments, as the district and the foundation contend.