Oak Park Cityhood Plan Could Come Back to Life

An advisory vote against Oak Park cityhood prompted dismay but not concession of defeat in at least one supporter, who said the measure could come back to life if the area’s incoming county supervisor fails to heed the concerns of the small, unincorporated community.

Meanwhile, in Port Hueneme, police and city officials declared Wednesday “a gloomy day,” but began seeking a new strategy to fund the city’s Police Department after voters defeated a ballot measure to assess an annual fee on residents.

The two proposals were among four local and nine statewide ballot measures that Ventura County voters considered on Tuesday. Countywide, voters overwhelmingly passed a measure to spend public transportation funds on commuter rail.

In Santa Paula, voters approved a measure to increase property taxes to buy new library books and keep the doors open longer.

But on statewide bond issues, Ventura County voters mirrored California, defeating the measures that would cost them money. Voters here turned down a parklands measure that would have brought more than $50 million to Ventura County.

They also voted down a measure that would have funneled $10 million to Ventura County Community College District’s three campuses.

In Port Hueneme, Measure Z would have cost residents $56 a year as homeowners or $47 a year as renters. Police Chief John Hopkins said he was disappointed because he had believed the measure enjoyed strong support in the city.

“We have a lot of upset and disappointed people around here today,” he said. “It’s a gloomy day.”

If approved, the ballot measure would have made up the $500,000 deficit needed to pay for the city’s 26-member police force.

Officer Steve Hart said he appreciated the community’s support. “There’s a little bit of stress involved, this unknowing feeling,” said Hart, a three-year veteran. “Whatever happens, I’ll still do the best job.”

But City Manager Richard Velthoen said he will recommend to City Council members next week that they impose a utilities tax to save the department. Unlike Tuesday’s ballot measure, which was passed by 64.6% of the voters but came just short of garnering the required two-thirds support, a utilities tax would not need voter approval.

“Considering the impressive support the measure had, there is a good chance the council could approve a utility tax,” Velthoen said. “A minority of the people dictated the opposite of what almost two-thirds of the people wanted.”

Other options to save the department include cutting other General Fund expenses by reducing hours at the community center, and cutting back on life guards or general maintenance in the city, Velthoen said.

Other scenarios include contracting for services with the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department or signing a joint powers agreement with Oxnard that would allow Oxnard Police to patrol neighboring Port Hueneme.

In the tiny community of Oak Park, David Ross, a former Municipal Advisory Council member and supporter of cityhood, complained that many of his neighbors are complacent, at least until a problem arises with county services.

But, he said, if the new supervisor who takes office after the first of the year is unsympathetic to the community’s needs, that could help resurrect the measure.

“We’ll have to see how our new supervisor treats Oak Park,” Ross said. “If the supervisor treats us nice, the issue is dead. And if the supervisor treats us nasty, there may be interest.”

Ross also said Measure A, which was sponsored by Supervisor Maria VanderKolk, may turn out to have been a waste of time and money.

VanderKolk was in New York and unavailable for comment, but her administrative assistant, Doug Johnson, said the supervisor felt the time and money were well-spent.

“Any time the public is given the opportunity to decide which way they want to go, that’s not a waste of time, that’s a democracy,” Johnson said.

Elsewhere in the county, supporters of the two successful local measures were more upbeat.

“It continues my faith in the community of Santa Paula,” said Dan Robles, director of the Blanchard Community Library, of the resounding success of Measure Y, which was approved by 83.7% of the voters. “It will be the first year in 17 years that we’ll have money to make library services better. I’m anxious to get started.”

The first $25 assessment will appear on December property tax bills, and Robles said he hopes that will translate to longer library hours beginning Jan. 1.

Voters approved another measure that would allow the county to tap a special state gas-tax fund to bring $1.2 million annually to the county to pay for mass transit.

“We’re absolutely delighted,” said Ginger Gherardi, executive director of the Ventura County Transportation Commission. Commission Chairwoman Vicki Howard called Measure X a “no-risk proposition” that enables the county to “develop innovative transportation programs that will benefit Ventura County’s air quality.”

The funds can be used to help build rail or bus stations or buy new rail cars or buses.

But proponents of the parks and wild lands initiative were disappointed on Wednesday by voters’ defeat of Proposition 180.

More than $50 million was slated to come to Ventura County through the initiative to fund river restorations, bike and hiking trails and the purchase of open space. The largest chunk of that was designated for the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy, which had planned to acquire another 2,000 acres or more of park lands in Ventura County.

“It’s a time for reassessment on staffing and other things, but we’ll be working as hard as we can to keep our mission going,” said Rorie Skei, assistant executive officer of the Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority.

“There will not be big land acquisitions, but we will work on keeping our programs going and managing the properties that we have,” she said.

Everett Millais, director of community development for the city of Ventura, said the city will try to find other sources to fund the planned Ventura River Bike Trail to connect an existing beachfront trail with the Ojai Valley Trail.

But he said projects such as the restoration of the Ventura River, beyond the initial phase that is already funded, and developing the Seaside Wilderness Park at the river estuary will be put on hold.

He said voters did not want to part with more tax dollars during tough economic times. “It’s not a rejection of the project, but of the funding,” he said.

Ventura County Community College District Trustee Pete Tafoya echoed sentiments of disappointment Wednesday after the defeat of Proposition 1C, which would have funded capital projects in the district.

“Obviously there are a number of projects that are in significant jeopardy,” he said.

The district had planned to make earthquake repairs at the Moorpark College campus library and at other buildings in the district. Plans were under way to build a new Letters and Science Building in Oxnard. And the district wanted to refurbish some of the old buildings on the Ventura Campus.

“Without this proposition, I don’t know what we’re going to do,” Tafoya said. “It appears that the state would tend to freeze projects. It’s a pretty gloomy picture.”

Times staff writer Christina Lima and Times photographer Alan Hagman contributed to this story.