They called... and the community answered
Special meeting included proposal to move government services east
By Darleen Principe darleen@theacorn.com

HAVING THEIR SAY- The Ventura County Board of Supervisors held their first-ever meeting at Simi Valley City Hall on Tuesday night. Barbara Johnson, at the podium on right, a resident of Susana Knolls since 1970, was one of a number of area residents who took the rare opportunity to voice to the board their concerns over issues facing the county and the region at large.

County Supervisor Peter Foy gave constituents a taste of his outreach plan Tuesday night when he brought the county Board of Supervisors meeting and his services proposal to Simi Valley City Hall for the first time

The board, which usually meets Tuesday mornings at the Ventura County Government Center, was welcomed by Simi officials and a packed City Council chambers.

"This is a historic occasion," said Mayor Paul Miller. "We certainly thank you for that- your effort to make county government more visible to the citizens in the east end."

Under normal circumstances, East County residents must make a nearly 80mile round trip to attend board meetings at the county seat. In a serious attempt to improve government access for citizens in the eastern area, Foy took the opportunity on Tuesday to propose a bold plan that would make travel to Ventura unnecessary- at least when dealing with certain county services.

BILL SPARKES/Acorn Newspapers

"I just think it's the right thing for us to do," Foy said.

The basic goal of Foy's proposal is to move the offices of the county clerk recorder, assessor, district attorney and treasurer/tax collector to the east side as soon as possible to improve traffic and environmental conditions, as well as increase convenience for residents.

Foy, who represents Simi Valley, Moorpark and other nearby areas, said in his presentation that about 49 percent of the taxes paid in Ventura County come from businesses and residents in the communities east of the Camarillo grade.

"Clearly, taxpayers are now paying in a ratio showing that things have changed," said Dan Goodwin, the county assessor.

Goodwin said he believes that taking the steps to move services is "good government," despite the potential of more work for the assessor's office.

When the government center in Ventura was originally opened in 1978, the population of the east end areas was only about half the 310,000 that it is now. Such growth has caused a significant increase in traffic on the 101 Freeway, Foy said.

"Part of my goal is to say, 'What services can we bring now to meet the needs of the people here currently?'" Foy said.

The proposal calls for the temporary utilization of 10,000 square feet of free space inside the Simi courthouse. The space would be used until a new, permanent 50,000-square-foot government center could be built in the area next to the sheriff's station on Olsen Road.

The new facility could possibly be built within the next eight to 10 years, Foy said.

According to Jim Becker, a spokesperson for the county clerk recorder's office, the proposed floor plans to move into the Simi courthouse by Jan. 7, 2008 are already in hand.

Initially, the office would send a supervisor, two clerks and an accounting employee to staff the Simi office, which would be open to the public three days a week. Eventually, as publicity gets out, the office would be fully staffed five days a week, Becker said.

"We're excited about it," he said. "We're ready to go."

Other speakers in support of Foy's proposal were District Attorney Greg Totten and former county supervisor Vicky Howard.

Totten said that having an office in the East County would make communications smoother between prosecutors and police. Crime victims and those seeking restraining orders and businesses requiring mediation to deal with checks written on nonsufficient funds would also have easier access to the DA.

More key points cited in Foy's presentation were environmental and traffic statistics.

According to compiled research, moving the four services would save at least 104,625 hours of drive time annually for residents and take about 300 cars off the road on a daily basis. This would reduce the current 1.5 million pounds of greenhouse gases being released annually into the air by those commuting to Ventura, he said.

Following Foy's presentation, members of the board expressed support for the plan.

"The next step is to have a plan to bring the project to fruition," said District 5 Supervisor John Flynn, who represents Oxnard and surrounding communities.

If officially approved, the building of the Olsen Road facility would be categorized as a capital improvement project.

The individual offices would also use portions of their budgets to help fund the temporary and permanent moves.

In the meantime, Foy and other county officials will be working out additional details of the proposal.

"I share your vision," said District 2 Supervisor Linda Parks. "I look (forward to) more on this in the future."