Sculpture Considered for Arts Plaza Tower : Thousand Oaks: A decision on the copper curtain is the last phase of aesthetic planning for the center. Some question the wisdom of the $150,000 expense.

Councilman Alex Fiore has often joked that he’d like to see a giant mural of his face adorning the 10-story tower of Thousand Oaks’ Civic Arts Plaza.

A portrait of the veteran politician would no doubt be popular--as a dartboard among those who consider the project a $64-million boondoggle, and as a tribute, among those who have long fought for the cultural center.

But instead of commissioning a likeness of Fiore’s square-jawed face, the City Council on Tuesday will consider ordering a one-of-a-kind sculpture to embellish the massive sandstone expanse of the tower.

If the council approves the $150,000 design, a corrosion-proof copper curtain will spill over the tower’s eastern wall like a reddish-brown waterfall, rippling in the breeze and shimmering in the sunlight.

The council’s deliberations about the curtain mark the last phase of aesthetic planning for the Civic Arts Plaza, which is scheduled to open for city government in August, 1994, and for performances three months later.

Also on Tuesday, the council will hold a study session to summarize the status of the Jungleland development. The project manager, architect and newly hired Executive Director Thomas Mitze will discuss a range of issues from fund-raising to design.

With a director on board, construction on schedule, and costs coming in under budget, boosters of the Civic Arts Plaza hope they can finally put controversy behind them and get to work planning a splashy grand opening.

But several issues of contention--both aesthetic and financial--still linger.

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Although the copper curtain concept won unanimous approval last week from the city’s Arts Commission, even some enthusiasts expressed concern about the cost.

“I’d rather have more policemen on the streets than a $150,000 copper curtain,” said Commissioner Gayle Simpson, an artist and teacher. “I think it will be beautiful, and I understand the feeling that since we’re spending so much anyway, we ought to do it right, but I could live with a blank wall.”

Money for the copper curtain would come from the Civic Arts Plaza’s contingency fund, which the council has already tapped for $45,000 to decorate the walls with textured stone veneer.

The contingency fund started at $3.2 million, which was factored into the development’s total $63.8-million budget, project manager Edward Johnduff said. It has grown to $3.5 million, since several phases of the construction have cost less than expected.

“Because of the recession, there are not a lot of big jobs out there, so contractors are going after our project with very competitive bids,” Johnduff explained, surrounded by hundreds of blueprints in his office at the construction site.

With bids in for everything except landscaping and City Hall furniture, Johnduff calculates that the project will end up in the black, with several million dollars left in the contingency fund. If the council chooses not to spend that money on upgrades like the copper curtain, it would be returned to the city and the redevelopment agency, he said.

Other financial loose ends may be harder to tie up.

Thousand Oaks has enough money in the bank to carry development through December, but will have to take out loans in 1994 to finance the last nine months of construction, City Manager Grant Brimhall said.

That prospect infuriates Councilwoman Elois Zeanah, who has consistently blasted the Civic Arts Plaza’s price tag and design.

“It seems like whatever funds we need for our pet project, we can come up with, while at the same time we keep reducing library hours and street sweeping services,” Zeanah said. “We’re talking about gilding a $60-million building using money from the contingency fund when we don’t even have enough cash to finish the construction.”

City leaders have repeatedly insisted that Thousand Oaks’ coffers held enough cash to build the Civic Arts Plaza. But in their calculations, they counted on selling the old city hall on Hillcrest Drive for $11 million. So far, they have not found a buyer for the asbestos-contaminated building.

The City Council recently formed a citizens task force to help market the Hillcrest property. Another ad-hoc group, the Committee of 100, will look into possible revenue-generating uses for the eight acres of land adjacent to the Civic Arts Plaza.

As number-crunchers pencil out the budget, Alliance for the Arts directors are intensifying their fund-raising campaign, which has already netted $1.5 million, including major contributions from GTE, Amgen and Lockheed.

Meanwhile, party planners are gearing up for the grand opening celebration. And the arts community is rolling out the red carpet for Mitze, a longtime leader of the La Mirada Theater who will move to Thousand Oaks this summer.

“People are starting to get really excited,” Mayor Judy Lazar said. “Everything’s going great.”

Arts Commission Chairwoman Margaret Travers said she, too, senses a growing enthusiasm as residents begin to realize “that we really are going to have world-class performances right here in Thousand Oaks.”

Even some longtime opponents are slowly coming around.

“I still have concerns, but it was a relief when the executive director was chosen,” Councilwoman Jaime Zukowski said. “If anyone can make it a success, he’s certainly qualified.”

Among Mitze’s biggest challenges will be attracting big-name performers to what is now just an ugly jumble of steel girders and beams. An unfinished performance hall and an untested market are not ideal marketing tools--but Mitze’s colleagues predict he will be up to the task.

“Tom wouldn’t walk into a losing situation,” said Neill Archer Roan, executive vice president of the California Center for the Arts in Escondido, a facility similar in size to the Civic Arts Plaza. “He has very good credibility, and good relations with artists and managers.”

Although controversy has swirled around the Civic Arts Plaza for the past five years, Mitze said he believes eventually the whole community “will be proud of it and enjoy it.”

Roan agreed: “I challenge you to find any arts center that has gone up anywhere, especially one that involves public money, where there hasn’t been some controversy.

“But it will end up being a tremendous economic development engine for the downtown,” he said. “It will change the complexion of the community. And it will help revive the tax base, which is in everyone’s best interest.”