VENTURA : 2 Appointed to Commission Posts

A downtown Ventura restaurant owner has been appointed to the city’s Planning Commission, and a Ventura Keys resident will fill an open spot on the Board of Port Commissioners.

Ventura City Council members voted Monday to appoint Sandy Smith, the owner of Rosarito Beach Cafe on Main Street, to replace outgoing Planning Commissioner Mary Laing Pease’s unexpired term.

The council also appointed Nick Starr, a businessman, to the slot vacated by Lawrence L. Matheney on the port board, which oversees Ventura Harbor.

Although Smith was appointed with no objection, some council members expressed reservations about Starr because there are already Keys residents on the commission. His appointment was approved, however, on a 5-2 vote. Councilmen Gary Tuttle and Todd Collart voted against Starr’s appointment.

Mayor Gregory Carson said he believes that Starr and Smith will do a good job.

“I’ve known Sandy for quite a while,” Carson said. “He has been very active in downtown and has proven he really cares about the community. He speaks from a younger and more open-minded generation.”

Carson said Starr’s business background will be valuable on the port board.

“We need good businessmen because we are facing pretty bad financial problems on our port,” Carson said. The Ventura Harbor claims no real net profit, having poured most of its profits into a standing $3-million fund to keep its bottom dredged because of an ongoing silt problem.