FEE DIVERSION WORRIES LE PARC CONDO OWNERS.

Byline: Sylvia L. Oliande Daily News Staff Writer

As part of its effort to collect a $6.6 million judgment the company received in a defamation lawsuit against the Le Parc Homeowners Association, ZM Construction began collecting association fees reserved for the upkeep of the condominium complex.

The loss of the fees resulted this week in the layoffs of the last two of three gardeners who had worked full time to maintain the condominium grounds.

Those layoffs, combined with the cancellation of private security services and the rumor that the pool cleaning staff is next on the chopping block, have residents worried that their complex will soon fall into disrepair.

``It's going to hurt me bad because the longer I let the common areas go, the worse it's going to get,'' Hank Hardison, maintenance supervisor for the complex. ``If this goes on two weeks it's going to take me two months to bring it back . . . I just hope we can resolve it really so it doesn't get really bad.''

Jeff Becker, the court-appointed receiver, did not return calls for comment about the layoffs, which came Wednesday afternoon.

The two let go were the last of three full-time gardeners who had been working at the complex. Those layoffs, combined with the cancellation of private security services and the rumor that the pool cleaning staff is next on the chopping block, have residents worried that their complex will soon fall into disrepair.

James Lee, a condo owner since 1987, said he and several others in his building planted flower gardens near their homes that the gardeners helped to maintain. Without support staff, the complex will quickly deteriorate, he said.

``You don't want to live in a slum,'' he said. ``If you don't have gardeners to clean up, it's going to look pretty ratty pretty quick.''

The arbitration award to QwikResponse, now known as ZM Construction, came out of a lawsuit the company filed against the association over work the company did after the Northridge Earthquake.

An arbitrator found that the association engaged in trade libel, slander, and filed negligent lawsuits as it accused the company of doing substandard work and withheld payment on a $6.2 million repair contract.

The association has appealed the case and is waiting for word about whether the court will hear it.

Meanwhile, an association bank account that homeowners paid into for repairs and maintenance has been diverted to pay off the judgment. Homeowners also may each face a $25,000 assessment to be paid over five years.

Two weeks ago, the city of Simi Valley sent a letter to the court of appeal to bolster the homeowner association's request that the case be heard quickly.

City Attorney David Hirsch said that normally the city of Simi Valley would not get involved in private legal matters. But the initial cutbacks raised the issue of the property being maintained well enough to meet city codes and the standards of the project's approval.

When told of the layoffs, city officials said its raises another level of concern about the situation.

``This obviously creates quite a dilemma,'' Hirsch said.