City to Hear Plan for Sewer Plant Upgrade

Hoping to take advantage of what she sees as a potential concession on the part of her political adversaries, Councilwoman Linda Parks is expected to ask the Thousand Oaks City Council on Tuesday to consider a $40-million sewer plant upgrade.

Thousand Oaks leaders have been engaged in a divisive stalemate over the sewer proposal for more than a year and a half. An upgrade of the Hill Canyon Wastewater Treatment Plant, which is operating at about 83% capacity, is needed to meet state health and safety requirements.

Parks’ plan, an alternative to the proposed $75-million sewer plant improvements being recommended by city officials, comes days after Councilman Andy Fox indicated he would support a smaller upgrade.

Fox later stressed that he thought $40 million would probably not cover all the city’s needs. But Parks remains hopeful, and wants the council to consider a $40-million plant, saying city leaders should be guided by an engineering consultant’s report on the city’s plan.

Thousand Oaks hired accounting firm Price Waterhouse to perform an audit of the $75-million sewer-plant upgrade last year. The firm concluded that the improvements may be larger and more expansive than necessary, but did not give specifics.

However, a technical report by Dames & Moore, an engineering firm hired by the auditors to examine the sewer proposal, suggested that the city may be able to save millions of dollars by building a smaller plant with less up-to-date components.

City officials contend a smaller expansion would not meet the city’s needs, and some council members do not support using cheaper components on grounds that they would compromise the health and safety of residents.

The City Council has scheduled a daylong study session on the sewer-plant upgrade Feb. 18.