Naval Base Backers Issue Public Cry for Help : Point Mugu: The grass-roots task force says both money and people are needed in upcoming campaign to defend site from possible closure.

Desperately seeking cash and fresh volunteers, the backers of the Point Mugu Navy base appealed Friday to the self-interest of county residents--saying the base’s shutdown could devastate local property values, school enrollments and the tax base needed for local services.

A grass-roots task force of supporters issued its public cry for help, explaining that donations in hand do not meet the needs of the upcoming campaign to defend Point Mugu.

“We need contributions and physical bodies,” said Ventura County Supervisor Maggie Kildee, a member of the BRAC ’95 Task Force.

The group said the stakes have never been higher, now that the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission has added Point Mugu to the list of bases being examined for closure.

“We are not only talking about thousands of jobs lost, but tens of thousands of properties could be devalued,” said Michael Saliba, executive director of the Ventura County Taxpayers Assn.

Saliba envisioned that the base’s shutdown could force thousands of houses onto the market at the same time, driving down housing prices in Camarillo, Oxnard, Port Hueneme and Ventura.

He said the economic impact would also reach Thousand Oaks and Simi Valley, eroding property and sales tax bases that finance essential governmental services.

“I urge residents to get involved,” Saliba said, “whether or not you think you are directly or indirectly affected. It will affect the value of your property.”

The local task force plans to hold a rally at the Oxnard Radisson Suites Hotel Thursday evening to help raise money for Point Mugu’s defense.

The group has raised $243,000 since its inception, most of the money coming from local governments. Money continues to trickle in, but organizers said they need a larger flow of cash now that Point Mugu is officially targeted.

“The community has been a little bit relaxed during this interim period,” said Carolyn Leavens, co-chairwoman of the task force and head of the Ventura County Economic Development Assn. “Now we have to move forward.”

Task force members said the group needs to step up its presence in Washington, restoring the full-time rate of lobbyists Lynn Jacquez and Bill Lowery, a former congressman.

The law firm’s contract had been cut in half when local bases appeared safe because they were not included among the Pentagon’s recommended list of base closures.

Also, the task force has rehired a Somis couple to conduct an independent analysis of the costs and benefits of moving most of Point Mugu’s missile-testing work to its sister base in China Lake.

The base-closing commission decided to explore closing Point Mugu after staff members reviewed a Pentagon audit that suggested the Navy could save $1.7 billion over 20 years by merging overlapping programs at Point Mugu and China Lake. The Navy strongly objects to the audit’s conclusions, saying they are founded on miscalculations and incorrect assumptions.

The independent analysis would be used by community leaders to argue on behalf of Point Mugu at an upcoming regional hearing in Northern California. A commission spokesman said Friday that the hearing is tentatively set for San Francisco June 9 or June 10.

“We will present our entire case then,” said Cal Carrera, the other task force co-chairman. “That will be our last shot.”

Kildee called on service clubs to join the rescue efforts, saying they would stand to lose members should the base be forced to close its gates and scatter most of its 9,000 employees to other military installations.

And she said thousands of her fellow Camarillo residents either work at Point Mugu as civilians or live in neighborhoods that would be devastated if the base closes and Navy employees are forced to relocate to look for work.

“We need to convince the public that this is a real threat and they need to support us,” Kildee said. “I’d like to see all of them writing letters, getting on buses to go to the hearings and really getting involved.”

The group’s leaders asked that donations be sent to the BRAC ’95 Task Force, 555 Airport Way, Camarillo 93010. For more information, call 388-4481.