Plaza Donor Backing Out, Zeanah Says : Arts center: Charles E. Probst is accused of reneging on a pledge to donate $2 million. Endowment alliance silent on the controversy.

THOUSAND OAKS — Just a few weeks before its first birthday, Thousand Oaks’ new performing arts center, designed to be the cultural jewel of Ventura County, is engulfed in a controversy over whether its main benefactor is backing out on a promised $2-million donation.

Thousand Oaks City Councilwoman Elois Zeanah said Wednesday that she has learned businessman Charles E. Probst is reneging on his promise to donate $2 million to the Civic Arts Plaza’s endowment.

The glittering letters spelling out the millionaire’s name should be wrenched off the side of the Charles E. Probst Center for the Performing Arts, Zeanah said. And the Alliance of the Arts, the nonprofit fund-raising group responsible for the endowment, should open up its books and explain its financial status to the public, she added.

Mayor Jaime Zukowski, who with Zeanah has been a critic of the city’s expenditures for the Civic Arts Plaza in the past, said she, too, has concerns about the alliance’s finances.

“The city of Thousand Oaks is dependent on this endowment to carry out the costly annual operations of this facility,” Zukowski said. “It’s imperative, if there is something that endangers that, the alliance must communicate with us.”

Probst, a reclusive businessman who lives in a guarded hilltop estate in the Thousand Oaks community of North Ranch, made the pledge last fall, just as the $64-million building, which houses the city government as well as two theaters, was about to open.

His first installment on the pledge was a check for $250,000. But, according to Zeanah, the bucks stopped there.

Probst has made no comment about the issue. And Probst’s attorney, Paul Stansen, said Wednesday that the millionaire has nothing to say on the subject.

Despite the comments by Zeanah and Zukowski, alliance leaders remained quiet about the prickly situation Wednesday.

They refused to confirm or deny that they have lost their biggest donor, saying the nonprofit group’s financial status is not subject to public scrutiny. Revealing details about donors would harm their future fund-raising activities, leaders said.

Alliance Director Dick Johnson said the group has received $10.7 million in pledges to date, to be used for operating expenses and special programs at the center. Of that, $3.9 million in cash and in-kind contributions--including advertising--has actually been received.

The alliance has pledged to give $250,000 annually to the performing arts center for operating expenses and staff salaries. It is the principal source of funding for operations. Eventually, Johnson said, the endowment should produce that much in interest annually. However, in this first year, the center’s infancy, there was only about $2 million in an interest-bearing account, and the group needed to combine several funding sources to make the annual payment in early summer.

While Zeanah and Zukowski were calling for public disclosure, other Thousand Oaks council members said they respect the abilities of alliance members--who include some of the most powerful behind-the-scenes-players in city politics--and trust them to continue to make the scheduled $250,000 annual payments.

“I think it is inappropriate for the council to react to a rumor, period,” Councilman Andy Fox said.

“If there is a problem with pledges made, they [the alliance] will bring them to us as they deem appropriate,” Councilwoman Judy Lazar said. “Even if this rumor were true, the alliance would be trying to rectify that. Anybody reasonable would want that to happen instead of going around and saying that it’s going to fall flat on its face.”

But Zeanah called for the group to tell the truth about Probst’s purported reneging, which she said she has confirmed through top city officials and knowledgeable sources.

“I disagree with alliance members who say this is not a public issue. His name is on a public building and that makes this a public issue,” she said. “If he is not paying his $2 million, his name should not be on the building.”

Zeanah said that if the group is in trouble, it should immediately come clean with the public. It would be beneficial to future fund-raising efforts if people understood the endowment is not completely secure, she said. Residents who have become complacent might be stirred to make contributions, she said.

“I understand why alliance members are concerned that this might reflect badly on them,” Zeanah added. “But I disagree with them on that. This happens to every fund-raising group. . . . It would be in the interest of the alliance as well as the public to not look as if they are trying to cover something up.”

Former Mayor Larry Horner also said he thinks the matter is the council’s concern.

“With these types of rumors floating around, where there is smoke there is usually fire,” Horner said. “I think Mr. Probst should come forward and tell the alliance and the council what is going on. That would be the professional way of doing things.”

Despite her outrage over Probst purportedly withdrawing his financial support, Zeanah said Wednesday that she has been reassured that the alliance has binding contracts with Probst and all its donors that can be legally enforced if necessary.

Alliance members refused to discuss specific contracts, but did say they feel confident of their ability to collect pledges.

“We have a pledge form with everybody, whether it is for a brick or a seat or a naming opportunity, and we depend on the integrity of our donors to follow through,” said Johnson, the group’s director. “In our society when you sign something you are held accountable for it. I’m not an attorney so I can’t tell you whether something is legally binding or not, but so much of our society lives on the strength of one’s signature.”

Alliance member Larry Janss said the alliance tries to be flexible with donors. Not every donor walks through the door with a gift that is 100% in cash, he said. Some require payment plans and may not be held to specific dates or deadlines.

“We will bend over backwards for that donor,” Janss said.