Contractor’s Track Record Worries Some Supervisors

At least two Ventura County supervisors said Friday they will vote against giving a $141,937 contract to a longtime county contractor who has been repeatedly cited for illegal dumping.

The board on Tuesday will consider giving Tom A. Staben the job of cleaning silt and debris from a flood-control basin near Somis--despite an investigation by the district attorney of his alleged illegal dumping activities.

Over nine years, county inspectors have cited Staben repeatedly for dumping broken-down cars, dirt and old appliances into a Somis stream bed.

Over the last five years, the county has awarded him nine contracts, totaling about $2.4 million.

Supervisor John Flynn said he wants the district attorney’s office to complete its investigation before he would agree to hire Staben again.

“I have no personal antagonism against Staben,” Flynn said Friday. “But I’d like to have the cloud lifted, and I don’t see that that’s been done.”

Staben on Friday refused to talk with a Times reporter.

Supervisor Frank Schillo said county attorneys must evaluate Staben’s record and report back to the board before he would consider awarding Staben another contract.

“I wouldn’t want to make a decision without all the facts,” Schillo said. “The problem is with the public’s perception over the whole thing. It’s still a gray area.”

Schillo said he may vote to negotiate a contract with another company. The second-lowest bidder was Union Engineering Co., a Ventura company that offered to do the job for $154,580.

Chief Deputy Dist. Atty. Mike Frawley could not say whether charges against Staben will be filed. The office’s investigation started about three months ago.

“This type of investigation requires accumulating a lot of information from several different agencies,” Frawley said.

Since 1989, the county’s Public Works Agency has reviewed 22 local, state and federal code violation charges against Staben, according to acting director Butch Britt.

Of those citations, Staben received three misdemeanor convictions--one within the past five years, for storing concrete construction blocks at his RV park in Ventura. He pleaded no contest and was sentenced to three years of probation.

Still, the Public Works Agency’s staff has recommended that supervisors award the contract to Staben.

In a staff report, Britt pointed out that Staben has not been disbarred by the state Department of Industrial Relations.

“There are not sufficient grounds to disqualify T.A. Staben for not being a responsible bidder,” Britt wrote.

He emphasized the need to clean out the basin before heavy winter rains.

Flynn said he will push for guidelines that would rate bidders and bar those who do not follow county standards. Last week, he persuaded his colleagues to table the staff recommendation to contract with Staben.

He criticized Public Works staff members for placing the Staben contract on the consent calendar along with other cleanup contracts. Items on the consent agenda are to be approved by supervisors without discussion.

“This is more than a Staben issue,” Flynn said. “The Public Works Agency has become way too independent. They’ve forgotten who’s the boss.”

Aides to the other supervisors--Judy Mikels, Susan Lacey and Kathy Long--said the board members have not yet decided whether Staben should be awarded the contract.