CAMARILLO : City Adds Funds to Purchase Esty Center

The Camarillo City Council has approved spending an additional $80,000 to purchase the Bill Esty Community Center for conversion into a new sheriff’s station.

Following a last-minute glitch in negotiations to purchase the center, council members voted unanimously at a special meeting Wednesday to buy the property for $1.68 million instead of the originally approved $1.6 million, Assistant City Manager Larry Davis said.

The partnership of Dave O. White and R. Craig Mason, which holds title to the community center, initially had agreed to donate its equity in the building if the city would pay the various liens on the property, Davis said.

In addition, one of the lien holders, the Borchard family, was expected to essentially donate its $900,000 note on the building to take advantage of tax deductions, Davis said.

But city officials learned Monday--a week before the sale was scheduled to close--that the family wanted cash for part of its note, requiring the city to restructure the deal and pay a higher purchase price, Davis said.

The council is issuing $3.15 million in certificates of participation to pay for buying and converting the community center into a station for Ventura County sheriff’s deputies who patrol Camarillo and surrounding rural areas.