Cost Estimates Requested on Repairs for Former Civic Center : Thousand Oaks: Plans call for selling the Hillcrest Drive property and using proceeds to help fund construction of the Civic Arts Plaza.

Agreeing that few tenants would jump to rent a gutted building with a leaky roof and broken windows, the Thousand Oaks City Council has requested cost estimates on fixing up the former civic center at 401 W. Hillcrest Drive.

City staff members will solicit estimates from contractors and engineers and return to the council with a report on various options, from simply replacing the shattered glass to revamping the air conditioning and repaving the parking lot.

“It’s a crap shoot--we don’t know how much this is going to cost,” City Manager Grant Brimhall told the council late Tuesday. “We’re asking you to let us find out what it will cost to make the building available to rent.”

Requesting estimates from contractors will take only a few hours of staff time, Brimhall said. Evaluating the proposals could prove more laborious--and therefore more expensive. But Brimhall did not know how much the process would cost.

City plans call for selling the Hillcrest Drive property for at least $11 million and using the proceeds to help fund construction of the Civic Arts Plaza, which will open in the fall as a performing arts center and government headquarters.

Rather than auction off the Hillcrest Drive property now, when land prices are depressed, the City Council has decided to hold onto the land until the real estate market rebounds. In the meantime, the council hopes to lease the property, perhaps to a corporation or educational institution.

Several executives based in the San Fernando Valley looked at the property after last month’s earthquake, Brimhall said, but “the interest evaporated” after they learned of the building’s dilapidated condition.

Vacant eight years, the former civic center needs repairs on the heating and air-conditioning system, the roof, parking lot, the electrical wiring, the restrooms and more, according to Assistant City Manager MaryJane Lazz.

“In order to compete actively in the marketplace, we feel we need to bring the building up to a certain minimum standard,” Lazz said.

Although the council members unanimously agreed to assess the costs of sprucing up the old civic center, their pre-vote debate laid bare bitter divisions and longstanding rivalries.

Rather than focusing on the repair issue, all five council members served up fiery speeches on the still-controversial Civic Arts Plaza. In half an hour of blistering debate, they accused one another of misleading the public, rewriting history and obscuring money trails.

Mayor Elois Zeanah and Councilwoman Jaime Zukowski, consistent critics of the Civic Arts Plaza’s cost and scale, came under the sharpest attacks after they questioned the city’s plan to finance the plaza.

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“I can tell you that two plus two equals four for the next 5,000 years, and if you still don’t understand that, there’s nothing I can do about it,” Councilman Alex Fiore told them. “You and your cohorts and your groupies just don’t understand.”

Earlier in the debate, an exasperated Fiore had turned to Zeanah with a challenge: “When all is said and done, if we fall flat on our faces--or any other body part you want to talk about--I will be the first to apologize. But if we are successful, I expect you to be the first to apologize and say you were wrong.”

Referring to Zeanah, Zukowski and a few residents who frequent the council chambers to criticize the Civic Arts Plaza, Fiore added: “Too many people are hoping we’ll go sour, hoping against hope we’ll fall flat. But, by God, we’re going to be right.”

With the air of a teacher stepping into a schoolyard scuffle, City Manager Brimhall tried to steer the council members back on track.

But Zeanah and Zukowski ensured that the debate will flare again at future council meetings.

Brusquely, they demanded brief summaries of Civic Arts Plaza finances, including cash flow from various sources and total land costs for the project. Finance Director Robert Biery promised to have the reports in two weeks, and Zeanah said she would put discussion of the financial program at the top of a forthcoming agenda.

After concluding the heated debate Tuesday night, the council moved on to a related action, agreeing to solicit cost estimates on improving unleased space in the government portion of the Civic Arts Plaza.

The Conejo Recreation and Park District had been expected to move into--and pay for--the 10,000 square feet of office space, but last year pulled out of the deal, citing budget constraints. Now, however, park district directors are again considering moving into the Civic Arts Plaza, according to Assistant City Manager Lazz.

California Department of Transportation officials are also interested in renting a few suites for a telecommuting center, which would house computers capable of establishing teleconference network links around the world.

Rather than offer the park district and Caltrans unfinished space, the council will consider installing restrooms, water and sewer lines and other basic amenities.