OXNARD : Harbor Officials Lobby in D.C.

Oxnard Harbor District officials have finished a week of lobbying in Washington, hopeful that their annual trip would increase their chances of getting federal funding for three major projects at the tiny Port of Hueneme.

Board of Commissioners President Edward Millan said the objectives of the trip last week included lobbying lawmakers for $4 million for the extension on Rice Road between the Ventura Freeway and Hueneme Road.

The harbor district, together with Caltrans and several local and state agencies, is seeking funds for the extension, which officials hope will provide better access for trucks going to the port.

A second item on the commissioners’ agenda was to meet with a representative of the foreign trade zone board on the district’s $70,000 application for foreign trade zone status. The status would exempt companies such as Mazda and Del Monte, which currently do business at the port, from foreign customs during the time products are kept in the zone.

A third goal was to lobby House and Senate committees for $350,000 to study the widening and deepening of the port.

The trip is an annual one, Millan said. He estimated a cost of $1,200 for each of the four commissioners and one staff member who went on the trip.

“We’ve planted the seed,” Millan said in reference to the meetings. “We go to make the senators aware. . . . We’re the only port in California that doesn’t have a direct freeway access. We feel a little slighted.”

Millan said he expected to hear from federal lawmakers within six months about the funds for the Rice Road extension.