Fountain Valley may have walked away from $1.5 million because one of its own council members campaigned against it.

That was the account delivered by Council Member Glenn Grandis during his council member report at the February 3 Fountain Valley City Council meeting, describing events that unfolded at the Orange County Sanitation District's steering committee and board of directors meeting on January 28, 2026.

At issue: OCSD's purchase of a commercial property in Fountain Valley, converting it from taxable commercial use to a tax-exempt government facility — a move that costs the city ongoing property and sales tax revenue. Grandis said he had spent time on the OCSD board securing a verbal commitment from the district to compensate Fountain Valley for that loss, and the figure the city sought was $1.5 million.

But Grandis no longer holds the seat. Council Member Ted Bui was appointed as Fountain Valley's primary OCSD delegate for 2026. And according to Grandis, Bui's conduct at the January 28 meeting effectively killed the deal.

Grandis described the sequence of events at the council meeting: City Manager Maggie Lee prepared remarks for the steering committee presentation, and Bui — as the city's representative — was asked to open the city's case. He refused. "When I sat next to Council Member Bui to say, 'Hey, you're going to kick us off,' he said no. He would not speak," Grandis told the council.

Without a seat on the steering committee — Anaheim now holds Fountain Valley's former spot — the city was limited to three minutes of public comment. Grandis and Lee presented the city's case. The steering committee recommended against the payment.

Between the steering committee and the general board meeting, Grandis said Bui made his position explicit: he did not believe Fountain Valley deserved the $1.5 million. Grandis pressed ahead anyway, giving his three minutes before the full board.

Then Bui spoke. "Council Member Bui then decided that he would speak at that meeting and basically campaigned against the city of Fountain Valley," Grandis said. "He said we did not deserve the $1.5 million, that legally it's not right — even though we explained to him, we understand there's no legal obligation."

The effect was immediate. "Once that happened, everybody looked — even the people who had support — like, your own city is not even going to support this," Grandis said. "And they unanimously rejected our bid. So we lost out on the potential of up to $1.5 million."

Grandis noted that OCSD has made similar voluntary payments before. When the district built the bridge across Ellis Avenue years ago, the city received a $2.3 million payment that, like this one, carried no legal requirement. Newport Beach and a Laguna Niguel-area water district have also voluntarily paid fees to Fountain Valley for operations within city limits.

Bui, speaking immediately after Grandis during the same meeting, offered a different characterization. He said OCSD's own legal staff had already recommended against the payment before the steering committee convened, and that the rationale the city presented — loss of property and sales tax revenue — did not meet the district's legal threshold for voluntary compensation. "I spent a lengthy time speaking with the city attorney and there's no legal authority for OCSD to compensate the city," Bui said.

Bui also disputed the premise that losing the steering committee seat drove the outcome, saying the staff recommendation had effectively decided the matter before the vote.

Grandis acknowledged OCSD was under no legal obligation to pay. His argument was a different one: that the city's own representative should have been advocating for Fountain Valley's interests, not arguing against them before the board.

The OCSD board's unanimous rejection of the payment request is a matter of public record. Fountain Valley's next council meeting is scheduled for March 17, 2026.