OPCO dispute split its board of directors
The finances of a once-powerful neighborhood group may remain a mystery now that the organization has fallen apart and the man who has asked where the money went for more than two years has given up.
Tom Fuller, who was a member of the Ocean Park Community Organization, has been requesting financial records from the group’s chairman, Rick Laudati since 2001. After a year of being ignored, Fuller filed a formal complaint in Los Angeles Superior Court, demanding that bank records be produced.
But Laudati and OPCO also ignored the formal request, which was filed in September of 2002. Every time a court hearing was scheduled, Laudati was a no-show. Each time that happened, Fuller was required to formally serve the court papers on Laudati to get another date set. After trying several times to locate Laudati, Fuller was able to serve him two months ago. But once again nothing happened at the courthouse.
Fuller, who got involved in OPCO in early 2001, asked to review the accounting books and finances, as well as a list of the organization’s current membership. When his requests were ignored, it piqued his curiosity. Then it became a matter of principle for the Ocean Park resident.
“I don’t have a huge desire to put Rick in jail (for contempt of court),” Fuller said. “I’m tired of spending money to get him served and tired of fighting.”
Fuller said he’s upset that the OPCO Board of Directors didn’t push Laudati to hand over the financial records.
“I’m disappointed in all of the board members for not taking action on this,” he said. “It’s their responsibility to get Rick to produce.”
Board member Mario Fonda-Bonardi said OPCO is a volunteer-based organization and it takes time to get paperwork together because its board members have time constraints.
2F9,“The board has addressed it,” he said. “We put our books together and our membership lists. But Tom was asking for more than that.”
Fuller still hasn’t been provided any documents though some of them were given to board members last summer.
“It’s a simple request and when I ask a guy a question, I deserve an answer,” Fuller said.
OPCO ends
As a result of the dispute, the organization has crumbled — the board hasn’t met in months.
When asked what the status of OPCO was, board member Laurel Roennau said, “I don’t know, but when you find out, will you let me know?”
Roennau admitted she hasn’t spent much energy on OPCO lately and doesn’t know which board members have resigned. And as far as Fuller’s complaint goes, Roennau wants nothing to do with it.
597,“I stayed as far away as I could,” said the Ocean Park resident who’s been involved with OPCO since 1981.
Fonda-Bonardi said Fuller’s court complaint is largely the reason the organization fell apart.
“It was the chilling effect of Tom Fuller,” he said. “It’s an organization with a bunch of volunteers that don’t want to put up with the grief. People do this because they love this community, not to deal with legal crap.”
Fuller never intended to send OPCO into a tailspin.
“It was not my desire to put OPCO out of business,” he said. “At the end of the day, OPCO was destroyed not because of me but because of Rick.”
Laudati couldn’t be reached for comment. He has declined to talk to the Daily Press in the past.
Close to a dozen board members have resigned over OPCO’s inaction in the past year and a half. Board members Audrea Golding Bitler, Ted Winterer and Elan Glasser attempted to work out a resolution with the board to get the finances released but they resigned in the fall of 2002 out of frustration that no progress had been made. In early 2002, Bob Loftus, Joe Pipersky and Bill Sunblad resigned over the financial questions.
An all-woman slate of activists filled the empty seats in an effort to recharge the organization. Beth Leder-Pack, Susan Love Loughmiller, Gaile Price and Rev. Sandie Richards took the three-month appointments. The only one that appeared to be involved until the end of Love Loughmiller.
Loftus, who now lives in Topanga, said the organization needed leadership and unfortunately, egos got in the way. He added that Fuller probably was too antagonistic in his requests and Laudati suffers from “control issues.”
“Neither side is blameless,” Loftus said. “But (Fuller) made a request under the by-laws that should have been addressed.
“A member shouldn’t have to sue to get information that is explicitly allowed under the by-laws,” Loftus added. “(Laudati) should have stepped down if he didn’t want to deal with the difficult and contentious issues.”
Laudati had a core group of supporters within the organization. Roennau is one of them.
“He held the organization together and I’m surprised he was able to do it this long,” she said, adding that OPCO serves as an important resources for residents. “They are losing a valuable outlet for their voices.”
Where’s the money?
OPCO was formed in 1978 as a community organization for the Ocean Park neighborhood as a nonprofit corporation. Under California law, it’s required to provide its membership with financial records, according to Fuller’s complaint.
It’s unclear how much money OPCO has collected from its members, how many members there are, and what the dues structure is. Some estimates put the organization’s membership between 150 and 500.
The last bank statement that was made public sits in a file in City Hall that details OPCO’s finances from December 1999 to January 2000. At that time, OPCO had $2,933 in a Wells Fargo Bank account. During that month, deposits totaling $220 were recorded and $240 worth of withdrawals were made — all of which were made from ATM machines in cash.
OPCO has been one of Santa Monica’s oldest and most powerful neighborhood groups. It was also considered the most respected neighborhood organization because of the stances it took on issues within the city. One of OPCO’s functions is to review development projects and then recommend to the Planning Commission and City Council that they be approved or denied.
“The organization is necessary and I’m sad to hear they’ve ended,” said Loftus, who was involved in the organization since the 1980s. “OPCO was awesome. There was a time when we were doing some great things and it was great serving the community.”
But the organization had its share of problems — like most political groups do.
“It had a habit of a lot time wasting,” Loftus recalls. “It wasn’t being run like an organization and a corporation, which it is.”
City Councilman Herb Katz agreed. He remembers when City Hall gave OPCO $102,000 as a one-time contribution when he first served on the council in the 1980s.
“They just piddled it away,” Katz said. “I think they misused the city.”
That’s not to say that OPCO didn’t do some important work at its peak. It was heavily involved in development issues along Main Street, and fought to protect the neighborhood’s historical charm and its locally owned businesses.
And the issues facing the neighborhood aren’t going away — development pressures, parking and traffic — could ruin the area if no one pays attention, residents say.
An OPCO rebirth?
Fonda-Bonardi said there has been some discussion about resurrecting OPCO again — but the commitment from residents has to be there.
“Issues come up and there really isn’t a forum for the neighborhood to debate the effects,” Fonda-Bonardi said. “Squabbling weakens the organization.
“But it’s a cyclical thing and an organization that has been around as long as this one, it’s going to go up and down,” he added.
If OPCO does resurrect itself, it’s first order of business most likely will be getting its finances in order.
“If OPCO resurfaces, the board will be part of my complaint,” Fuller said. “It’s their fiduciary responsibility and until they comply with this, they shouldn’t be doing anything.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on March 1, 2004. Read the original PDF.