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$160,000 Expenditure Draws Anger From Airport Authority

Posted on: Thursday, 20 April 2006, 12:00 CDT

By Miguel Gonzalez, Daily Press, Victorville, Calif.

Apr. 20--VICTORVILLE -- A $160,000 expenditure has become the subject of controversy between members of the Southern California Logistics Airport Authority, the airport director and the company building the hangars here.

The money in question was spent to provide an SCLA client with modular space, communication lines and additional security, city spokeswoman Yvonne Hester said. The client in this case is the Orbis Project, a DC-10 airplane being serviced here. Orbis is not involved with this controversial issue.

The request for this expenditure drew the anger of authority members Rudy Cabriales, Mike Rothschild and Bob Hunter when they found out airport director Peter Soderquist had already spent the very same money he was petitioning for.

"I am not happy with the way this has been handled," Hunter said Wednesday. "The prudent thing would have been to bring the issue before the board before spending sizeable taxpayer's funds."

According to Soderquist, the expenditure was necessary for the airport to fulfill a previously signed contract with Orbis.

"California Building Systems has not completed the hangar (where Orbis was supposed to work on their plane) and we needed to provide some office space for the Orbis Project," Soderquist said.

Hunter said the expenditure would have not been necessary if California Building Systems would have completed the second hangar, which was to be ready at the beginning of the year.

"CBS is not fulfilling their end of the bargain, and we are losing revenue and local jobs because of that," Hunter said

CBS plans to build a total of four hangars at SCLA. Since the beginning of 2006 the Arizonabased company has faced accusations from subcontractors who say the company is four months late in issuing them payment for work completed.

Soderquist admitted he should have consulted members of the authority before spending the money. "I should have brought it to their attention and I should be more careful in the future," Soderquist said. Rothschild said the biggest disappointment in this situation is that CBS is causing the city unforeseen expenses and potential loss of jobs. "I am not feeling very good about them (CBS) right now," he said. "When the hangar is completed the city will become a business partner, but until then they are a private company and we can't do much to get them to complete construction." Hunter said he has directed city staff to aggressively press CBS to refund the $160,000. "That's taxpayers' money and it needs to be recouped," he said. Reached in Arizona, CBS Business Development Director Luke Graven was brief on his comments. "I will have to check with legal counsel on that matter," he said. Cabriales called for a way to have members of the airport authority make the final decision on large expenditures. "We need to set some guidelines on how we are going to do business here."

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Copyright (c) 2006, Daily Press, Victorville, Calif.

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Source: Daily Press - Victorville, California

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