THOUSAND OAKS : Schillo Balks at Move to Temporary Office

An angry Ventura County Supervisor Frank Schillo complained that construction delays could force him and his staff to move into temporary quarters in a Thousand Oaks community center that has been dubbed the “Schillo Shack.”

Schillo doesn’t want to move to the Goebel Senior Center on South Conejo School Road but said he has no choice. His office in the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza will not be ready until July 1, and he must move out of his current office by April 30.

“It’s either the parking lot or the ‘Schillo Shack,’ wherever that term came from,” Schillo said of being a county supervisor without an office.

Thousand Oaks City Manager Grant Brimhall jokingly coined the term during Tuesday’s City Council meeting while explaining Schillo’s plight.

Schillo last month received board approval to move his staff and office onto the second floor of the arts plaza. Schillo had hoped to move by May 1.

But Brimhall said construction delays will prevent that.

Schillo said the construction delays can be traced to neighboring offices being readied for the California Department of Transportation, which is months from moving into the offices.

“I’m really very disappointed they have taken this long,” Schillo said. “I think they have made a mistake. They should be worried about the tenants who are ready to move in.”

Schillo said he will demand that his space in the Goebel Center be rent-free.

However, Councilwoman Jaime Zukowski said the city expects to be paid for the space. She added that Schillo’s staff was partly to blame for the construction delays because they made several changes to floor plans after workers had already begun fitting the office to his specifications.

Schillo raised some eyebrows last month when he received the supervisors’ approval to sign a $3,053-a-month lease for the office space, costing the county $10,000 a year more than predecessor Maria VanderKolk’s office on West Hillcrest Drive.

Supervisor Susan K. Lacey voted against approving the lease, citing the county’s projected $46-million budget deficit.