ELECTIONS CITY COUNCIL : Issues Focus on Growth, Ambulances, Redevelopment

Managing growth, improving emergency services and redeveloping Moorpark’s downtown area are the dominant issues among five candidates competing for the mayor’s post and a City Council seat.

Candidates seeking to become the city’s first elected mayor include council members Clint Harper and Paul Lawrason and a former parks and recreation commissioner, Tom Wheeler.

Eloise Brown, who is seeking her second four-year term on the City Council, is being challenged by John Wozniak, chairman of the Planning Commission.

As the Nov. 6 election nears, the mayor’s race has become increasingly heated, with Harper attacking Lawrason for accepting developers’ contributions and for what he perceives as a strictly pro-growth stance.

“The difference between us is that Paul votes yes on every project that comes before the city, and I tend to be more selective,” Harper said. “I vote only for projects that I think are going to be good for the city in the long term.”

Lawrason dismisses Harper’s charges, saying that he is moderate on growth. He said he believes some development is necessary to help pay for city services, create jobs and boost the economy.

“I want to stimulate the economy to keep us vital, to keep things going,” he said.

Although residents passed a slow-growth ordinance in 1986 that limits construction of single-family houses to 270 a year, Harper has proposed another growth-controlling measure. The so-called comprehensive planning ordinance would give residents the opportunity to vote on major developments that require the city to amend its General Plan.

“It would directly involve the citizens in the planning of the city,” said Harper, 43, who also co-wrote the city’s slow-growth ordinance, known as Measure F.

Lawrason, 61, opposes the new planning ordinance, and said he believes that Measure F has already brought development to a halt. There are more than 500 available building permits that developers have not applied for, he said.

“Measure F is as effective an ordinance as we need in this city,” Lawrason said. “Anything additional to that would be over the hill. It would be a detriment to the city.”

Wheeler says that neither Harper nor Lawrason possesses the leadership necessary to move the city forward. Wheeler, 45, said his opponents’ hostile relationship has made it more difficult for the council to resolve major issues.

For example, he said, the council has failed to come up with sound plans for improving emergency services and redeveloping the downtown.

Both Wheeler and Lawrason oppose Measure C, a November ballot measure authored by Harper and Brown that would create a special tax district to finance a city-based paramedic service. Residents have constantly complained of slow response and inadequate care by Pruner Ambulance Co., which contracts with the county to provide emergency services in Moorpark.

Wheeler said Measure C would cost taxpayers more than $1 million annually rather than the $869,520 stated on the ballot. He said additional money will be needed for supervision of operations, vehicle service and ongoing paramedic training.

Lawrason and Wheeler say the city should work directly with the county and Pruner to establish an ambulance-paramedic unit inside the city limits. The closest Pruner station is in an unincorporated area at the southwest end of Simi Valley.

The two candidates said establishing a Pruner station within the city would save the city more than half of what it would cost to finance its own ambulance service.

In defense of the measure, Harper said that the $869,520 mentioned on the ballot is a worst-case figure, and that he believes that the establishment of a city ambulance service would cost about half that amount. He said taking bids from ambulance companies other than Pruner to provide the service would also drive down the price.

On the issue of downtown redevelopment, Wheeler said that if he is elected mayor he will call a meeting with downtown merchants to get their views on potential improvements.

Wheeler also suggested that the city establish a spring festival in the downtown area. Noting that there are already festivals in July and October, he said spring festival would help maintain year-round activity downtown.

Lawrason said the city is working to revitalize the downtown area, noting that the council recently decided to allow businesses to provide outdoor eating areas and live entertainment. He said the council also supports resurrecting a plan by a local developer to build a two-story Victorian-style commercial and office building at the corner of Moorpark Avenue and High Street, considered the city’s main street.

The developer at one point ran into trouble with financing, but he recently told the city that he is ready to go forward if he does not have to go through the permit process again. The council has asked its staff to come up with a compromise so the project can move forward.

Harper, who also supports the project, said the city this year established its Redevelopment Agency to help pay for street improvements and to provide low-cost loans to merchants and residents who want to improve downtown properties. The agency receives a percentage of property taxes.

However, the county has sued the Redevelopment Agency over how much the percentage should be, so the city cannot spend the disputed funds.

Harper said that the lawsuit will eventually be resolved and that the city can begin working on various programs to improve its downtown.

Wozniak and Brown also disagree on the city’s performance on redevelopment.

“I don’t think we’ve been fast enough on the downtown plan,” Wozniak said. “I remember talking about it 12 years ago. I don’t think what the council has done is enough. We need to decide what we want to do with it and get on with it.”

Brown said the city cannot do much without redevelopment money. She said the city also needs more cooperation from the business community.

“The city alone can’t generate business for merchants,” Brown said. “It’s going to take the Chamber of Commerce and the city to bring vibrant life to the downtown area.”

Wozniak, 41, said he opposes Measure C because it is too costly. He said he would rather see the county come up with a paramedic training program for some of its firefighters.

Brown, 69, said that given current economic conditions, the county cannot afford to provide paramedic training to firefighters and said the city will have to solve its own problem.

Still, Wozniak said he believes the council has dragged its feet on too many issues. “I’ve sat back and watched what’s going on, and I think it’s taking too long to make decisions,” he said. “It’s got to move quicker.”