VENTURA : Port District Gets $206,000 Grant

The state Boating and Waterways Commission has awarded the Ventura Port District a $206,000 grant to improve the boat-launching facility at Ventura Harbor.

Most of the money will be spent on expanding the existing parking lot from about 80 spaces to more than 130 and installing curbs, sidewalks and landscaping, port district General Manager Richard Parsons said. Visitors to the boat launch often must park on a nearby dirt field because the lot fills up quickly on weekends.

Some of the grant money will be used to repave the launch itself, Parsons said.

Although the grant money has been awarded by the commission, Parsons said he does not expect the paperwork to be processed for several months. That would delay any construction bids from going out before the end of the year, he said.

Parsons said the district applied for the grant several years ago, but it had been put off because of the state budget crisis.

“This project had been in the budget two years ago, but that’s the year boating and waterways lost its entire budget,” he said. “Given that long delay, we’re glad to have it finally approved.”

The improvements probably will be completed by the summer of 1995, Parsons said.

State Boating and Waterways Director John R. Banuelos said improvement projects such as the one approved for the Ventura Port District are a boon for the local economy.