SIMI VALLEY : Council Opposes Freeway Service Plan

The Simi Valley City Council has opposed a plan to spend state and county dollars to hire a tow truck to roam the Simi Valley Freeway and remove disabled vehicles.

Discussing the proposal at their regular meeting Monday, council members said the city’s two major tow operators have proven they can keep the freeway clear. “We’ve got private enterprise that’s doing a good job,” Councilman Bill Davis said. Representatives from both tow-truck companies, Dave’s Club Service and Swink’s Towing, appeared at the meeting to speak in opposition to the plan.

The Ventura County Transportation Commission will make a final decision on whether to spend $37,500 in state funding and $12,500 in county transportation money on the freeway service program by early next month.

Simi Valley Mayor Greg Stratton said he would send a letter expressing the city’s opposition before the commissioners begin their final deliberations. The council made a recommendation on the plan at the request of the commission.

“We came down very strongly against it,” Stratton said Tuesday. “We’re not convinced that it’s needed in our community and we think (the commission) is just taking advantage of a program because it’s there. It’s that classic ‘If you don’t use it, you lose it’ kind of situation.”