Council to Divvy Up Quake Relief : Thousand Oaks: Hard-hit homeowners are eager to secure a no-strings federal grant. Staff warns giving funds to residents may set a precedent.

Faced with the pleasant chore of divvying up half a million dollars, the Thousand Oaks City Council on Tuesday will debate how best to spend a federal earthquake relief grant.

Already, homeowners are lining up, hats in hand.

“A handful of us really have not resumed our normal way of living,” Michele Relkin told the council earlier this week, after describing how the January quake twisted and tilted her home. “I’m asking for your understanding.”

Along with understanding, Relkin and other hard-hit residents also want some cash.

Resident Bill Johnson said he plans to request more than $11,000 as a grant to help him repair the roof and chimney of his home on Shelter Wood Court.

The federal government has given him a low-interest loan covering the $36,000 needed to fix his earthquake-damaged home. Yet a loan, Johnson said, “still needs to be paid off,” so he’s eager to secure a no-strings grant.

“When you buy a house, it’s your pride and joy,” he said. “The roof and fireplace are a key part of my home, my castle.”

The city’s unexpected windfall--$501,000 in community development funds--might be Johnson’s best bet.

Council members will consider a proposal to give some of the cash to individual residents to pay repair costs not covered by insurance companies or Federal Emergency Management Agency aid.

Funneling the federal funds to homeowners would set a precedent of paying for private property repairs, city staff warned. Brushing off that objection, Mayor Elois Zeanah said: “So what?”

“The emphasis here should be not to repair public property, but to help people with private property,” Zeanah said. “My preference is to assist homeowners whose property is so damaged that the costs are not being covered by federal or state funds.”

Because only a handful of Thousand Oaks residents suffered staggering losses, Zeanah said in addition she would like to hand money to residents repairing cosmetic damage, such as fallen roof tiles or cracked plaster.

Another option would be using the funds to repair dozens of block walls that tipped or crumbled during the Northridge earthquake. The staff has pegged the price tag for repairing all masonry walls around residential tracts and bordering main streets at $341,000.

But while his homeowner’s association could use some help repairing three downed walls in Chanteclair Estates, resident David Habib said he thought the city should focus first on fixing up bedrooms and bathrooms.

“As a human being, I say, get people back in their homes” before sinking money into block walls, Habib said. “We can scrounge around to pay for the walls, but we don’t want people to live on the streets.”

Still, once the neediest cases are taken care of, Habib said he would like leftover funds distributed evenly throughout the city.

“We can always use help,” he said. “We wouldn’t ask for it if we didn’t need it.”

In deciding how to allocate the federal funds, the council could also choose to beef up the city’s disaster preparedness program, survey water reservoirs for damage or pay for additional repairs at the Thousand Oaks Library.

The staff has proposed spending $25,000 on disaster preparation, either to educate residents or to equip the Disaster Assistance Relief Team, officials said.

The 35-member quick-response team could use walkie-talkies, search and recovery tools, and a van to cart around equipment and personnel, according to Planning Commissioner Forrest Frields.