VENTURA : $250,000 Approved to Spruce Up Park

One of Ventura’s most visited parks will get a $250,000 face lift later this year, under a decision made Monday by the Ventura City Council.

Council members agreed to solicit bids for a plan to build new restrooms at Plaza Park, the one-square-block park that fronts the Ventura post office.

“It’s not only dingy, but it’s not the safest place in the world,” Councilman Gary Tuttle said before Monday’s meeting. “It needs to be spruced up, cleaned up and fixed.”

Plans call for the winning contractor to demolish the existing restrooms and build new ones nearby. An earth mound just east of the restrooms that covers a decades-old concrete bunker also would be removed.

City engineers estimate that the job will cost $243,000--about $37,000 less than original plans unveiled early this year had projected.

Park officials first wanted to erect a gazebo in Plaza Park but scuttled that plan when cost estimates were too high. New plans scaled back the design for the proposed restrooms to lower the cost.

On Monday, council members decided to divide the park improvement plan into two projects. Contractors will be invited to bid separately on building the restrooms and demolishing the concrete bunker.

In another effort to cut costs, construction companies will also be allowed to suggest alternatives to the city’s proposal for decorative copper roofing originally planned for the restroom.

The city will advertise for bids on the project, and city officials are scheduled to open bids this summer.