2nd Phase of City Hall Expansion Begins

Two decades ago, when the founders of this young city began designing the government complex that would become their sprawling new home, they expected it to last at least 20 years.

The California bungalow-style wood and concrete edifice that shelters local government has not yet celebrated its 20th anniversary, but plans are already underway to renovate the south and west wings of City Hall, the second part of a two-phase project.

Engineers have begun drawing up blueprints to add 4,400 square feet of office space to the Carmen Drive complex, a contract estimated to be worth about $900,000 when it is awarded sometime this spring.

“We’ll be expanding the walls toward the church and toward Constitution Park,” Assistant City Manager Larry Davis said Monday. “It’s designed to accommodate the growth that’s occurred and the growth we expect to occur.”

Members of the Camarillo Planning Commission tonight will review the proposed expansion before forwarding their recommendations to the City Council.

Incorporated in 1964, Camarillo opened its first City Hall in tight quarters on Ventura Boulevard in what would later become the Camarillo office of the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department.

Within a few years, however, it became obvious that Camarillo needed a larger home to accommodate its doings.

City leaders then began drawing up the current complex at 501 Carmen Drive--27,000 square feet of offices and meeting rooms that were officially dedicated July 4, 1977.

But Davis and other officials said the need for extra office space has grown right along with the city--which has expanded from about 12,000 residents at its incorporation to more than 60,000 today.

Last year, in the first phase of the renovation project, planners added about 2,000 square feet of space to the north and east wings of City Hall.

“It was built for expansion in the first place,” longtime Councilman Mike Morgan said. “That way, as there was growth we could expand with the growth and we wouldn’t have to build a brand-new City Hall.”

The new office space will benefit primarily the city administration and the Finance Department. There will be new, expanded offices for council members, the city manager, the assistant city manager and the finance director.

“We’ve got several top employees who are in really small little rooms,” Morgan said. “They’re like cubicles. Their breathing room is not very big, and they’ve been stumbling over each other.”

Mayor David M. Smith frequently meets constituents at City Hall. But that’s primarily because he inhabits the mayor’s office, which rivals the city manager’s spread for space.

“If I have an appointment with someone, I’ll ask them to City Hall,” Smith said. “That’s my first choice.”

But because there are only two smaller offices available for the other council members, the other four elected officials are forced to share office space.

“You have enough shelf space and filing space,” Smith said. “But there’s not much room for more than one person in the office at a time.”

Construction could begin as soon as June on the expansion, which could take 10 months to complete, depending on winter weather, Davis said.

“It will be very nice to have enough space to meet with someone over there and not have another council member in your office,” Smith said. “When I was a council member, I would usually meet people at my [business] office.”