Progress in range cleanup

Federal government will chip in to decontaminate gun range; city lawsuit against Police Officers Assn. continues.Huntington Beach’s attorneys have reached another settlement in a lawsuit involving the cleanup of the former police shooting range, a possible sign that the 4-year-old battle with the police union could be resolved and the space converted into a park.

At the City Council’s Nov. 7 meeting, City Attorney Jennifer McGrath announced that the council has settled one part of the lawsuit, wrapping up a deal with the federal government to pay for a portion of the decontamination.

The city will collect $55,000 from the U.S. government to help pay for the cleanup. Federal agents once used the range.

Still unresolved is the city’s suit against the Police Officers Assn. The city first sued the association on Nov. 26, 2001, over responsibility for the decontamination of the site.

“It’s kind of a ridiculous suit,” Russ Reinhart, president of the Police Officers Assn., told the Independent at the time.

Reinhart argued that when the city terminated the gun range lease in 1997, the city agreed to share in the cost of the cleanup.

He said the police association has held up its end of the bargain.

“We had a mutual agreement -- we fulfilled our obligations,” Reinhart said, referring to a letter drafted by former Community Services Director Ron Hagan.

Former City Atty. Gail Hutton told the Independent that no such agreement was made, and in any case it would not be binding unless it was adopted as a resolution by the City Council.

Talks to resolve the issue were started, but the council decided to drop out, saying that it felt that the Police Officers Assn. wasn’t forthright about how the site was operated. City officials were told that lead deposits on the site were confined to one area, but when the site was examined, city officials learned that lead deposits were found throughout the gun range.

The city filed suit to try to get the Police Officers Assn.’s insurance companies to pay for the cleanup costs, which could range between $500,000 and $1 million.

McGrath said the city is willing to discuss a deal but will press forward with a financial settlement from the association’s insurance company.

As for a compromise, “It just depends on the amicability of the party,” she said.