Board wants to open swap meet bidding

Deirdre Newman

The executive committee of the Orange County Fair Board was set

Friday to recommend that the board of directors open bidding for the

rights to run its successful weekend swap meet.

Instead, the recommendation turned a lot broader with the addition

of a subcommittee that will explore all possible alternatives,

including negotiating solely with Tel Phil Enterprises, creator and

35-year-operator of The Orange County Market Place. The two-person

subcommittee will present its final recommendation to the board on

Feb. 26.

The committee approved exploring all the options, even though the

board’s attorney said it was “not likely” that the Department of Food

and Agriculture would approve a contract that did not go through an

open bidding process.

Both Tel Phil and the only other company involved in the bidding

process -- Delaware North -- expressed satisfaction with the

decision.

“I think the board is looking at all its options,” said Jeff

Teller, president of Tel-Phil Enterprises. “That’s the task a board

like this has to do. They have to take all the factors into

consideration before making a policy decision.”

Jeff Flint, a consultant to Delaware North, called it “an

outstanding decision.”

“If they take into account what their attorney told them today,

they will put this out to an open, fair, bidding process,” he said.

Friday’s discussion was the latest in the swap meet saga, which

got mired in controversy last summer. In July, the board nixed the

first bidding process and approved issuing a new request for bids.

In January, the board rejected hiring an outside consultant to

help prepare a request for bids for the 10-year-lease of the parking

lot where the swap meet occurs, shifting the issue back to the

executive committee.

On Friday, Deborah Fletcher, deputy attorney general to the fair

board, said although there’s no specific statute preventing the

negotiation of a contract without competitive bidding, the Department

of Food and Agriculture has a strong policy of advocating competitive

bidding.

Robert Bower, an attorney representing Tel Phil, said he wanted to

be certain of that.

“If the board is concerned about the issue, it should get

something in writing from the Department of Food and Agriculture,”

Bower said.

Bower proceeded to enumerate seven reasons why he feels the board

should consider negotiating directly with Tel Phil, including their

high quality of operations and the huge community support they have

cultivated through their generosity to the area.

Flint focused on what he considers the board’s obligation as a

steward of public land to keep the process open.

“It’s about setting up a process that as public stewards, you need

to go through,” Flint said. “That will answer the questions that need

to be answered. There might even be more than two bidders.”

After the public hearing, board president Pat Velasquez made a

definitive motion that a two-person subcommittee should work on

recommending the process go out to competitive bidding based on

“extensive conversation with our legal counsel and taking all items

into consideration.”

But board member Peggy Haidl said she wanted to look at all the

potential options, including possibly negotiating solely with Tel

Phil. She asked for written confirmation from the Department of Food

and Agriculture on its position on the bidding process.

Velasquez agreed to change her motion and include that the

subcommittee explore all the options, under Fletcher’s advice.

Velasquez said she would talk to fairgrounds General Manager Becky

Bailey-Findley about sending out a letter to the bidders asking for

all arguments to be submitted before the Jan. 26 meeting so the board

has all the information it needs to make a decision that day.

* DEIRDRE NEWMAN covers Costa Mesa. She may be reached at (949)

574-4221 or by e-mail at [email protected].