Light-Rail Plan Gets Lukewarm Reception : Transit: Panel likes Supervisor Flynn’s proposed countywide network, but is uncertain how to pay for it.

Ventura County Supervisor John Flynn’s plan for a light-rail system that could stimulate the economy and move people more efficiently received a lukewarm reception Friday from the panel that sets priorities for transit projects.

Members of the Ventura County Transportation Commission said they liked Flynn’s idea but were uncertain how to pay for a light-rail network whose countywide start-up costs could exceed $400 million.

The commission told its staff members to review Flynn’s plan, but County Supervisor Vicky Howard, a member of the commission, said, “I’m not aware that we have any money to put into this at this time.”

To determine whether a light-rail system would attract riders, Flynn urged the commission to endorse a 14 1/2-mile demonstration line from the Ventura County Fairgrounds through Oxnard to the U.S. Naval Construction Battalion Center in Port Hueneme.

The line would include 15 stops and carry about 8,600 riders each day, he said. The route would follow existing tracks, and a one-way trip would take just over 25 minutes.

Start-up costs--including rail cars, platforms and track improvements--for the demonstration line alone would run up to $40 million, Flynn estimated.

Under Flynn’s plan, the light-rail system could later be extended east, following new and existing tracks to Santa Paula, Fillmore and Camarillo.

Light-rail trains generally cover shorter distances and use smaller cars than full-size passenger systems, such as Amtrak and Metrolink.

Frank Schillo, a Thousand Oaks councilman who serves on the commission, said after the meeting that he was not certain Flynn had picked the best location for the first section of the light-rail system.

“He had a specific example of Oxnard, which happens to be in his district,” Schillo said. “I didn’t see anything in there about Thousand Oaks. The Ventura County Transportation Commission has to look at the entire county before deciding where to try a demonstration.”

Santa Paula Councilman John Melton, another commission member, said he was not ready to embrace Flynn’s plan until more research is done regarding the routes and the location of the demonstration line.

“I would want to look at where the people are and where the need is,” Melton said.

Schillo and Melton said they did not believe that state and federal funds cited by Flynn will become available soon to build the light-rail system.

“That’s a significant concern, no doubt about it,” Flynn said in an interview after the meeting. “However, we need to deal with the concept first. If the concept is legitimate, and the merits are strong, then it should go forward.”

The supervisor said the Clinton Administration is preparing an economic revival package that may provide money for infrastructure improvements, including rail projects. He said Ventura County should have its rail proposal on paper if such funds become available.

“Those projects that are ready to go will be those that get the money,” Flynn said.

In other counties, rail projects have been supported by a half-cent sales tax increase for public transportation. Ventura County voters rejected such a tax in 1990, but transportation advocates have vowed to try again.

Flynn has not endorsed a sales tax increase, but he said voters are more likely to support it if they know the funds will go to a project such as the light-rail system.

The supervisor said he chose the Oxnard area for the demonstration line because of the existing track and the concentration of residents and employers. He said he would consider starting the system in another area if there are enough riders to support it.