Marine Center Wins City Endorsement

Supporters of a $29-million marine education center have received an endorsement from the Ventura City Council, despite misgivings about how the project would be financed.

The council’s endorsement was necessary for the project to secure the nonprofit status it must have to receive corporate sponsorship. The council voted 6 to 1, with Councilman Jim Monahan dissenting.

Supporters described the project, which would be built at the entrance of Ventura Harbor, as a cross between the Scripps Institute of Oceanography and the Monterey Bay Aquarium.

“The Ventura Marine Education Center will be the preeminent project of its kind between San Diego and Monterey,” marketing and fund-raising consultant Julian Macdonald told the council Monday night.

Of the 150 aquariums across the country, Ventura’s would be the only one to feature an IMAX theater and offer learning centers for students in every grade level from kindergarten to college.

And, Macdonald concluded in a report to the council, the center would potentially funnel more than $1 million in sales tax revenue into city coffers as a result of increased tourism.

But no one could say who would pay for the $29-million center.

Al Fiori, a college teacher who first proposed the center, said he is confident funding can be secured in the next six months. But he acknowledged that the city may be asked to contribute financially at some point.