Stanton, Roth Balk at Marina Lease Renewal, Cite Concern on Process

SANTA ANA —  Saying they had no inkling that Supervisor Harriett M. Wieder’s son had been employed by the private operator of a county-owned marina, two supervisors said Tuesday that they are not yet willing to approve a proposed renewal of the firm’s lease.

Supervisors Roger R. Stanton and Don R. Roth said their concerns center on the controversy caused by the disclosure of Lee E. Wieder’s role and Supervisor Wieder’s actions affecting Sunset Marina Park at Huntington Harbour.

“I have great concerns,” Stanton said. “ . . . The integrity of our decisions and the appearance of our decisions have to be safeguarded. My position is always going to be to err on the conservative side in making sure everything is completely proper.”

Said Roth: “It’s been a bad situation, particularly for the other supervisors. We’ve all been tarnished by it.”

The Times reported on June 23 that, partly as a result of Supervisor Wieder’s involvement, the county is close to renewing a long-term lease for the facility and its 276-slip marina--eight years before the current lease expires and with no competitive bidding.

The article also disclosed that the marina operator, Goldrich & Kest Inc., employed Wieder’s son as a lobbyist from early 1989 through June, 1990, encompassing the firm’s first seven months of formal, lease-related negotiations with county officials.

In separate interviews on Tuesday, Stanton and Roth said they knew nothing about the involvement of Wieder’s son when they participated in votes beginning in December, 1989, that affected Sunset Marina and Goldrich & Kest.

“Absolutely not,” said Stanton, adding that after reading The Times’ article, he “called the CAO (County Administrator Ernie Schneider) up and said, ‘What the hell’s going on?’ ”

Because of the controversy, both Stanton and Roth said they have not yet decided whether they will vote to renew the marina operator’s lease with the county when it comes to the Board of Supervisors for final consideration on Aug. 13.

Usually, the supervisors do not raise questions about such decisions when they are of local concern to a colleague. In this instance, Sunset Marina is within Wieder’s 2nd District.

Nevertheless, Roth said he has instructed his staff to present him with “some options” when the lease-renewal proposal comes before the Board of Supervisors next month.

Wieder did not respond to questions submitted to her through an aide on Tuesday. The supervisor has said that she has tried only to get the county the best terms possible while ensuring fair treatment for Goldrich & Kest. Neither the firm’s employment of her son nor its $1,800 in contributions to her campaigns, Wieder has said, has influenced her decisions.

Top county officials have said that the proposed lease renewal would significantly increase the county’s share of income generated at Sunset Marina. Complete details have not yet been made public, but officials say that when the existing lease expires in 1999, the county’s share could rise from 20% of the gross income to as much as 80% of the net, adjusted income.

Lee E. Wieder, 47, the supervisor’s son and president of a San Francisco Bay Area firm called Access Land Development, has said that he left Goldrich & Kest’s employment in late June, 1990.

As reported on June 23 by The Times, Supervisor Wieder’s role has included her directing a reshuffling of the county’s Sunset Marina lease negotiating team in late 1990--resulting in the removal from the talks of the county’s director of harbors, beaches and parks.

The article also reported that Wieder assigned her chief of staff to attend the next negotiating session with Goldrich & Kest, headed at that point by the county’s No. 2 staff executive. And in February, Wieder voted with the other supervisors to exclude Sunset Marina from a consultant’s study that was to recommend new income-enhancement and management options--including the possible replacement of Goldrich & Kest.