AGOURA HILLS, CALABASAS : Cities Step Up Plans for Regional Center

The cities of Agoura Hills and Calabasas have stepped up plans for a regional community center and gymnasium.

The two city councils met jointly this week to discuss what needs to be done to complete the job. The cities must form a design committee, establish a joint powers authority and recruit volunteers to raise about $130,000 to provide items ranging from weight equipment to office furniture.

The council members, however, disagreed on how many people should be on the design committee. Some said the committee should be kept small to simplify matters, and others worried that some would feel excluded if they were not invited.

“I’d rather be inclusive from the beginning, rather than have to apologize later,” said Calabasas Councilwoman Lesley Devine, who suggested inviting Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky.

The council members decided to limit the committee to 15 people, including representatives from the Las Virgenes Unified School District and Sheriff’s Department. They asked staff members from the two cities to study the joint powers authority issue and report back. The two councils agreed in principle to wait until the design process is complete before seeking volunteers to raise funds.

The cities could hire a firm to design the facility or purchase designs from architects of existing facilities, said Greg Johnson, Calabasas’ director of community services. The two cities, he said, could save at least 40% in design costs by purchasing an existing plan.

Johnson said he believes the project could be complete in about a year if all goes as planned.

The facility would be built on 4.5 acres near the Lost Hills Sheriff’s Station, which formerly belonged to the county. To purchase the land, the two cities used $450,000 set aside under a state program for communities to spend on parkland purchase and building parks.

The site could accommodate a 26,000-square-foot building, which would cost about $3 million to build, officials say. The two cities have been working on the idea since July, 1993, when the two councils approved the idea in concept and directed staff members to prepare a feasibility study once the county made the land available.