Spotlight Falls on Theater Plan in Fierce Simi Valley Mayoral Race

Performing arts groups applauded last month when the Simi Valley City Council set aside $2.5 million to transform a historic 68-year-old church into a 300-seat community theater that supporters say is badly needed.

But the arts project has abruptly been thrust into a less flattering spotlight. It has become a high-profile target in a fierce mayoral race.

Public affairs consultant Steve Frank, who hopes to unseat Mayor Greg Stratton on Nov. 3, has been asking why council members are pouring public money into an arts center that voters said in 1986 they would not pay for.

Another candidate for mayor, attorney Robert L. Plunkett, has also criticized Stratton for supporting the purchase and the proposed renovation of the church.

“What this is symptomatic of is the ‘edifice complex’ that really infects politicians,” Plunkett said. “Rather than spending money where it will do the most good--in small projects and improvements--they spend it on these big monuments.”

Frank and Plunkett believe it is right to raise the theater issue at a time when Simi Valley, like other cities, is short on funds to pay for basic city services. But performing arts enthusiasts are upset.

“I understand differing philosophies,” said Councilwoman Judy Mikels, a former president of the Simi Valley Cultural Assn. “But I hate to see something that so many people in the community have worked for and wanted for so long become a political football--and end up being talked about in a negative light.”

At issue is a stately gray building that opened in 1924 as the Simi Valley Methodist Episcopal Church. Local historian Patricia Havens said the church, with its tall pillars and classical architecture, is the only building of its type in the area, and she has urged the city to preserve it.

The Methodist congregation moved in 1969, and the building, at 3050 Los Angeles Ave., was leased to a mortician, then sold to a Jewish congregation. Businessman Bob Mitchell bought it in 1986, hoping to restore it as a wedding chapel or banquet hall.

Mitchell lacked the money to make such improvements, however, and last year he sold it to the city for $821,000.

That money came from the city’s general fund. In June, the council earmarked $2.5 million in redevelopment funds--which can only be used for certain public works projects--to study the church and possibly turn it into a community theater. The reconstruction dollars will not be spent until the study has determined how much it will cost to fix up the church and operate it as a theater, city officials said.

Only Councilwoman Sandi Webb has voted against this plan.

“I don’t feel that this is something, especially in tight budget times, that should be done with taxpayers’ money,” she said.

Mayoral challenger Frank is similarly critical of Stratton and the council majority.

“They spent $800,000 on the property before they knew it could be used, which is an irrational and irresponsible fiscal policy,” he said. “I support a cultural arts center in Simi Valley. But I think it should be paid for with private donations.”

He said Stratton is ignoring the results of a 1986 ballot measure in which voters said “they don’t want government to pay for it.”

According to city records, 61% of the voters in 1986 said they wanted to see a performing arts center built in Simi Valley. But when these voters were also asked whether they would tax themselves $60 per parcel annually for 10 years to pay for such a center, 65% said no.

The mayor last week insisted that the 1986 vote did not mean that residents opposed the use of city funds for a community theater, only that they did not want a tax increase to pay for it.

Stratton said the council’s plan is not fiscally irresponsible.

“If the church can’t be rehabilitated, we could tear it down and sell the property and get back the $800,000,” he said.

Stratton also pointed out that candidate Frank recently urged the council to fund a new Royal High School stadium with redevelopment dollars.

“I believe cultural arts centers are as important as football stadiums,” the mayor said. “They all benefit the community.”

Cultural arts supporters say Simi Valley, with a population of more than 100,000, is sorely lacking performance space. Until recently, drama and music groups could stage events locally only in multipurpose schoolrooms with poor acoustics and uncomfortable seating.

Then last year, the private, nonprofit Simi Valley Cultural Assn. converted an old county courtroom into a 98-seat theater that is used by groups such as the Santa Susana Repertory Company and SAVE, the Stage and Video Educational Theatre troupe.

But arts enthusiasts say even this facility has too few seats and cannot accommodate an orchestra. They support the city’s plan to create a 300-seat theater at the church.

“A performing arts center that’s very active has a positive impact on urban renewal and the business climate in general,” said David Ralphe, artistic director of the Performing Artists Guild, which is staging plays at the courthouse theater this summer. “If you cut from the arts, you’re penny-wise and pound-foolish.”

“I think there’s an absolute need for a community facility for the arts in Simi Valley,” said Wes Barkwill, treasurer of the Simi Valley Cultural Assn. “I think it’s something the community should support--even with tax dollars. I don’t think it’s a luxury.”

The city’s long-range plans call for construction of a 750-seat theater on public land near Simi Valley City Hall. But because of the city’s limited resources and the estimated $15-million price tag, Simi Valley officials say that theater may not be built for another 10 years.

In the meantime, Barkwill said the political debate over the church project may be a healthy development.

“I welcome the discussion,” he said. “I think any opportunity to make this more visible to the community will just increase their awareness of the arts.”