SIMI VALLEY : Council OKs Quake Work, Police Station

In a major step toward further recovery from the 1994 Northridge earthquake, the Simi Valley City Council voted Monday to borrow $16.7 million to build a new police station and repair shattered streets and waterworks.

The council voted 4 to 0 to approve issuing tax-exempt, 20-year bonds to raise the funds. Most of the money is to be spent during the next two years.

Approximately $10.9 million of the total is earmarked for construction of a 46,000-square-foot police station on the corner of Tapo Canyon Road and Alamo Street.

The two-level building is to stand next to City Hall. Offices and the dispatch center are planned for the main floor, while a parking garage, evidence rooms and other storage areas will be put underground, said Assistant City Manager Don Penman.

The existing police station on Cochran Street was built in 1971 as a temporary structure. But it was not until after the earthquake badly damaged its interior that the Police Department won City Council approval to build a permanent headquarters.

Another $4 million of the bonds will go toward repairs to streets, sewers and water tanks that were damaged by the earthquake, Penman said. The remaining $1.7 million in bonds will be used to retire old debts and finance the new bond issue, he said.