MOORPARK : Day-Worker Hiring Site to Be Discussed

The Moorpark City Council will consider a proposal Wednesday to establish Ventura County’s first officially sanctioned hiring site for day laborers at the city’s Civic Center complex.

A task force of city officials, business people and day laborers has recommended that the city set up a hiring site at the Community Center, located at the Civic Center complex on Moorpark Avenue.

If approved, the 30 to 50 day laborers who have been congregating in front of the Tipsy Fox convenience store on High Street for the past six years could move to the new location as early as next week.

Under the proposal, the day laborers would be responsible for publicizing the new location to landscaping companies, contractors, and other businesses and individuals who hire them.

The task force, called the Day Laborer Ad Hoc Committee, has also recommended that the day laborers leave the Community Center by 10 a.m. each morning so they will not interfere with other activities at the center.

Moorpark city officials began looking for a hiring site for day laborers last summer after the Tipsy Fox owner complained that the men’s presence was driving away potential customers.

A previous proposal to locate the hiring site on a vacant lot at the west end of High Street was turned down by the council in January. High Street merchants had complained that the laborers’ presence would detract from the image of the historic shopping district.

Two of the five council members, Mayor Paul W. Lawrason Jr. and Bernardo M. Perez, sit on the committee that made the recommendations.