Theater owner says city flooded property and then stuck him for the water bill
IMPERIAL — Imperial businessman Bobby Gran Jr., who owns the now-closed Motor VU Twin Drive-in Theatre in Imperial, is threatening to sue the city for what he calls an excessive water bill and damage to the building on the theater grounds.
Gran said he has tried to contact the city manager by phone eight times and by in person twice to no avail.
At the Aug. 7 Imperial Council meeting, Gran’s uncle, Mark Gran, read and presented a letter his nephew had written to the council.
Two weeks later, Bobby Gran said he still has not heard back from the city, and added he will try once more before considering legal action.
The city has issued him a water bill of around $3,000, which includes penalties and interest for late payment, that he said he has no intention of paying.
If he files a lawsuit, Gran said he will ask for a lot more, as the damage to the building on the theater grounds, he said is between $50,000 and $100,000.
“I have been going around and around trying to resolve the water bill for the drive-in,” Gran said.
While the city manager has yet to call him, he said the city has told him the water bill is his responsibility — “end of story.”
“It is what it is,” Gran said.
He said the issue occurred when the city shut down the water due to some digital conversion work about two years ago. The water under the street was turned off because the copper pipes were gutted and sometimes stolen.
“We were paying our water bill every month to maintain service,” he said.
Gran said the city came out to replace the water valves at his property but failed to check the work after turning the water back on.
“They never even thought about looking at the building before leaving,” he said. The water was shooting over 15 feet into the air. The water ran for a long time.”
The result, he said, was the drive-in became submerged in 2 feet of water.
“There was extensive water damage and now mold to the building,” Gran said. “The water bill was huge, and I refuse to pay the bill to what is now more than $3,000 with interest and penalties.”
Gran visited the site of his closed drive-in movie theater three weeks ago and noticed someone had turned the water off again from the street.
He said the result of this was raw sewage because the toilets backed up and went through the building and property.
Still, Gran said all he is asking is for the water bill to be dismissed.
He said the city can look into its records to see the water bills since the 1960s have always been paid.
He also said the city can look at past consumption amounts for the property to show the property never used the amount of water for which he was billed.
“I have never used that amount of water,” he said.
Imperial Public Information Officer Alexis Chalupnik said the city is trying to resolve the issue.
“Customer utility accounts are subject to confidentially. As such we cannot provide specific information regarding (things like) balances and information,” Chalupnik wrote in an email.
However, since March 2018 the city has tried to provide a resolution that is mutually agreeable to both parties, she wrote.
“Staff will continue to work with the Gran family to resolve the issues, and we look forward to closing the matter in the near future,” she said.
While the drive-in theater will not be reopening, Gran has plans for the property.
“I plan on cleaning up the property and developing it,” said Gran who still has two drive-in movie theaters operating in other parts of the state.