Arts Plaza ‘Surplus’ Is Topic of Debate : Thousand Oaks: Construction is expected to be $1 million under budget, but some City Council members say the price tag is misleading.

Construction of the Civic Arts Plaza will wind up this fall roughly $1 million under budget--but Thousand Oaks council members have already begun arguing about whether they have a genuine surplus on hand.

This week, the City Council awarded the final construction contracts on the performing arts and civic center, hiring crews to build curbs, gutters and retaining walls, and to landscape the outdoor park.

A few small items, mainly City Hall furniture, remain to be purchased. But the actual construction is “100% bid out,” said Ed Johnduff, the city’s project manager.

Even accounting for the unexpected glitches and cost overruns that inevitably crop up, the budget should have a healthy $1 million remaining in the contingency fund by the time the 1,800-seat theater opens with a splashy black-tie festival in October, officials said.

“Any owner would be proud to be in this position,” said Denis Carter, who oversees the project for the construction management firm Lehrer McGovern Bovis.

But at Thousand Oaks City Hall, the milestone caused consternation as well as celebration.

Mayor Elois Zeanah and Councilwoman Jaime Zukowski, both longtime opponents of the Civic Arts Plaza’s size and cost, have repeatedly questioned the accounting practices that show a surplus.

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The construction budget does not include millions spent on acquiring land for the Civic Arts Plaza, so Zeanah and Zukowski have argued that the $63.8-million price tag is misleading. In recent public meetings, Zeanah has accused other council members of diverting attention from substantial land costs by boasting about the lower-than-expected construction budget.

And Thursday, Zukowski agreed, saying: “To fully assess this, we should look at both budgets.”

Finance Director Robert Biery has promised to present the council with brief summaries of all construction and land costs Tuesday.

For the city’s most recent land acquisition, the narrow Heggen property along Oakwood Drive, the council authorized spending more than $600,000 in gas-tax funds. The Civic Arts Plaza’s architects plan to widen Oakwood by paving over part of the Heggen property to create a grand entrance into the five-story parking structure.

Meanwhile, City Atty. Mark Sellers is negotiating to purchase another property near the Civic Arts Plaza, at the southwest corner of Thousand Oaks Boulevard and Oakwood Drive. The 2.3 acres would be used for a regional transportation center linking various bus lines.

Sellers said he hopes to wrap up the acquisition within the next month, but declined to estimate a price tag.

Even with no firm cost figures, however, Zukowski warned that the city’s land acquisition plan has been expensive, driving up the overall price of completing the Civic Arts Plaza. Operating and maintaining the high-tech auditorium will be costly as well, she noted.

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Thus, despite the apparent construction budget surplus, “it’s not as though we have $1 million to play with,” Zukowski said.

Those council members who do consider the $1 million to be genuine surplus also cautioned against thinking of the leftover funds as a windfall.

Councilman Frank Schillo said he would not support an Arts Commission suggestion that at least some of the money go toward purchasing a sculpture for the park. Instead, he said, the funds should be kept in reserve for structural or acoustic enhancements deemed necessary after several test runs in the new facility.

And Councilman Alex Fiore recommended whittling the city’s debt on the government portion of the Civic Arts Plaza by transferring the budget surplus to the general fund.

Technically, the Redevelopment Agency is funding the performing arts side of the building, while the city’s general fund is putting up cash for the new government offices. But the council has had to lend millions from the general fund to the penny-pinched Redevelopment Agency for construction of the auditorium.

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At the same time, the general fund’s resources for building the City Hall section have been crimped because the city has been unable to sell its former civic center at 401 W. Hillcrest Drive. To cover a $13-million shortfall until the Hillcrest Drive property is sold, the city will have to take out short-term loans or issue bonds.

By applying the budget surplus to the general fund, Fiore said, the city would be able to reduce the amount of debt financing needed to complete the project. The city would normally get half of any surplus, but the Redevelopment Agency could transfer its half to the general fund as partial repayment on the loans, he suggested.

“That’s the first thing that should be done,” Fiore said. “I’d rather see it go to repay the debt than anything else.”