Theater owner making no headway with city on water bill

IMPERIAL — Two months after the city of Imperial said it intended to work with the Gran family on a disputed water bill, no meetings have been scheduled, and no phone messages left with city officials have been answered, according to one member of the family.

Imperial businessman Bobby Gran Jr., who owns the now-closed Motor VU Twin Drive-in Theatre in Imperial, has threatened to sue the city for what he calls an excessive water bill and damage to the building on the theater grounds.

Gran said he tried to contact both the city manager and public information officer by phone twice more in August after previously trying numerous times unsuccessfully to get in touch with them.

He contacted the city again after reading in this newspaper that officials said they wanted to work with him.

Those phone calls in late August, he said, have not been returned, so he feels like Imperial officials lied when they issued that statement about wanting to resolve the problem.

“I can confirm the city is still working to resolve this issue,” Chalupnik said. “To date I have not any messages from Mr. Gran, but would certainly welcome a conversation.”

Gran said he tried to call City Manager Stefan Chatwin and Chalupnik in late August. He said he was told they were out of town for a conference so he left a message with his contact information on both of their voicemails.

Meanwhile, the city has continued to bill him for the water and penalties of about $3,000.

He said 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.

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, and the city charged him for that water.

“They have not made an effort to talk to us, let alone work with us,” Gran said. “Maybe in the public sector it’s OK to treat people like this. They need to fix the problem.”

Gran said all he wants and still wants is to work with the city on this matter. As of now all he pays is the minimum fee to be hooked up to the city’s water service.

“It’s very frustrating,” he said. I am trying to be a good (customer). I don’t want to be a bully and get a lawyer, but if I have to, I will.”

Part of the problem he could face is selling the property, as the water bill and penalties would prevent this from happening.

Gran plans to do an abatement to the old drive-in movie theater, so he can demolish everything on the property except for the movie screens to make the property more attractive to buyers and developers.

He said they already work well with the city on other property in Imperial, like the movie theater on State Route 86.

“We are not asking for anything special,” Gran said.

If he does file a lawsuit, Gran said he will ask for a lot more, as the damage to the building on the theater grounds is between $50,000 and $100,000.