Mendocino Coast Television has voted to dissolve their nonprofit organization, after losing a lawsuit that found they had never really owned their Laurel Street headquarters and ordered them to pay back rent.
The dissolution means the end to 7-year-old MCTV, said its executive director, Elizabeth Swenson. Public access was provided for nearly three decades before that by Mendocino Coast Community Education Television, which transitioned into MCTV in 2006.
The MCTV website email said there would be one more week of broadcast.
“We hope to have one more week of scheduling/cablecasting and plan to have new programs about MCTV airing for the first time on Friday, July 19, beginning at 7:30 p.m.,” the website states.
Mendocino County Superior Court Judge Jeanine Nadel ruled in May that MCTV must give back the Footlighters building in Fort Bragg and pay $36,315.
The ruling stems from 2007 transfer of the building from then-Footlighters president Bud Farley to MCTV, a transaction the judge found to be illegal. MCTV had focused its defense entirely on the fact Footlighters did not object to the transfer when it happened or for months afterwards.
MCTV was in the midst of remodeling when they got the first legal demand to give back the building. At the time of the transfer, the play company had declining membership, very little money and was saddled with a dilapidated building with a terrible mold infestation.
MCTV transferred the building without getting the usual title insurance policy, which would have covered the costs of any lawsuit. A local title expert testified that a policy would never have been issued. The building was transferred via quitclaim deed, a bizarre way to transfer a building that had been owned for a long period of time by one party. The transfer was based on backdated paperwork that Farley submitted.
MCTV Executive Director Elizabeth Swenson announced Monday that MCTV was throwing in the towel and pointed the finger at Footlighters and its lawyer.
“The Footlighters will not accept that we don”t have money and are demanding back rent and other fees of roughly $44,000,” said Swenson in an announcement to the community on the MCTV email to subscribers and the MCN listservs.
“Their lawyer, John Ruprecht, insists we have the money and he is going to find it. Any reasonable person could see how absurd that assumption is by a quick review of the last seven years of financial records we offered to show him. In response to our offer, Ruprecht made it clear he plans to make us go through some more legal hassles,” Swenson wrote.
“Upon learning late last week that the Footlighters will not negotiate, the MCTV Board met on Saturday and passed a resolution to dissolve immediately.”
Footlighters blames Swenson herself for the problems, said Junice Gleason, board president of Footlighters. She says the action to dissolve and blame it all on the lawsuit covers up an ugly financial situation that was already at MCTV. She says Footlighters had worked out a compromise plan with MCTV and were shocked by Swenson”s announcements, including a show on KZYX, made before the final judgment was entered.
“I am totally and utterly appalled by the pure fabrication and deceit that Elizabeth broadcast,” said Gleason.
Swenson isn”t offering any long-term hope for MCTV but told this newspaper they hoped a future public access channel could have the equipment to get started.
“We are hoping they will allow us to donate equipment to the City to hold or possibly use,” Swenson said. “To be clear, we have had no conversations with the City about this or anything else related to MCTV. We hope also that they [Footlighters] will allow us to move equipment in an orderly way and that we can donate the over 3,000 tapes and 3,000 DVDs to someplace that can keep them and have them be available.”
The City and or Comcast could end up tasked with whatever community access services are provided when MCTV closes its doors.
Gleason said she was waiting for two MCTV board members to get back to Footlighters when Swenson”s announcements hit this week.
“I met with Dan Gjerde and we spent an hour and a half discussing a plan to where MCTV could stay in the building, rent the building for $1,000 a month (the same amount that they published in the paper that they were willing to spend for another space) and have full use of the building when we were not in production,” Gleason said.
“We even had discussed bringing the floor of the building to one level by replacing the wood flooring that was torn out over the cement slab they poured. They could have kept their broadcasting control room in the same place and moved their camera monitoring equipment in the light booth that is already wired for it. We discussed putting an ADA compliant men”s bathroom in the utility room,” Gleason said.
She said the next meeting with a board committee was supposed to take place after the final judgment had been released.
But the board also blamed the lawsuit and the lawyer when it voted to end its own existence on Saturday.
The dissolution of the organization took effect immediately and was signed by all six members of the board of directors, President Dan Gjerde, Jane Vartanian, secretary, Alan Ferguson, treasurer, and board members David Martin, Ann Rennacker and Ron Bloomquist.
“The board of directors of Mendocino Coast Television declares that it sees the dissolution of Mendocino Coast Television as the only viable method for Mendocino Coast Television to comply with the court judgment in favor of Footlighters and the demands of the attorney representing Footlighters, and instructs its legal counsel and executive director proceed with the dissolution in the spirit of complying with the judgment of the court,” the board wrote.
The content of the MCTV board resolution is at www.mendocoasttv.org. Swenson”s announcements on the listserv stirred up confusion and a furor against Footlighters.
“I have never been to Footlighters and don”t have TV,” wrote Sylvia Gilmour.
“Neither is a loss to me. But it makes me very sad that contingents in our community can”t figure out how to co-exist and maybe even help each other. If we can”t do it here, how can we think about creating a world that works for everyone?” said Gilmour.
