FILLMORE : City OKs $85,000 for Storm Drain

The Fillmore City Council voted Tuesday to spend $85,000 on a storm drain for a neighborhood plagued by frequent flooding.

The figure accounts for most of Fillmore’s 1991-92 share of federal Community Development Block grant funds. But the amount is less than 10% of the total cost for building the drain on 3rd Street in north Fillmore.

Fourteen Ventura County public service agencies requested a portion of Fillmore’s $108,000 federal grant, including the Ventura County Homeless Coalition, Food Share Inc. and the Senior Nutrition Program.

Council members acknowledged the value of those programs, most of which serve needy people countywide, but chose to spend their money close to home.

Besides starting a storm drain fund, the council awarded $5,615 to the Palmer Drug Abuse Program, which opened a drop-in counseling center in Fillmore last year after the city awarded a similar grant. An additional $9,600 will be used for the anti-drug D.A.R.E. program.

The rest of the grant funds will be used for administrative costs.

Tom Ristau, who works as an intern in Fillmore’s government offices, said more money for the $970,000 storm drain can be raised by borrowing against expected future grants. The city hopes to raise an additional $240,000 by asking for an advance on federal community development funds earmarked for Fillmore through fiscal year 1994-95.

The city expects to finance the rest through its Redevelopment Agency.

The need for a storm drain on 3rd Street was underscored during the council’s March 26 meeting when heavy rains caused a mudslide near Fillmore, closing California 126 for three hours.

That afternoon, so much water had accumulated on north Fillmore streets that residents reportedly dug a channel under the Southern Pacific railroad tracks to release the flood before it filled their homes.

“In their position, I might have done the same,” one city official said.