Price for Downtown Repairs Rises

The bill for long-discussed downtown improvements to A Street and Plaza Park has spiraled upward, adding more than $300,000 to the project’s estimated cost since its approval last November.

But city officials say the higher price tag for what has now become a $2-million project has occurred because additional components have been added to the street straightening and park rehabilitation.

Instead of “cutting and patching” the sidewalks on the four-block stretch of winding A Street between 3rd and 7th streets, the entire pedestrian walkway will be replaced, Councilman Tom Holden said.

In addition, even more lighting will be installed at Plaza Park, partly at the suggestion of Holden and Councilman Dean Maulhardt. Residents have long complained that the park, which should be a community gathering spot, is dark, dirty and the domain of transients.

“It’s a very small percentage of the overall project,” Holden said. “If you look at the large picture of the entire project, this small percentage increase goes a long way to accomplishing what we need to accomplish, and that’s a safe, attractive environment downtown. So I think it would have the support of the council.”

Still, the latest revisions, combined with changes made to the project in November, have increased the project’s cost by $796,746 since it was initially proposed more than two years ago, city officials said. Back in December, 1995, officials estimated a make-over for just Plaza Park would cost $281,000. Today that tab has jumped to $779,547.

Maulhardt said he expects the council will take a hard look at the continuing escalation of costs when it considers whether to approve what are being called refinements to the November plan at its Tuesday meeting. But he said the investment is justified because the neglected area hasn’t had much money spent on it in years.

“This should be the final revision to it,” Maulhardt said. “The scope of the plan hasn’t changed in many respects, but we couldn’t get it done for what we thought we could.”

Funds set aside for such redevelopment projects and bond reserves are expected to finance the bulk of the work. But about $100,000 worth of street capital improvement funds will be tapped to cover any unforeseen expenses associated with the work once it begins.

The long-awaited, long-delayed project is expected to start in a matter of weeks, Holden said.

In November the council approved spending $1.76 million on the plan, which is intended to revamp Oxnard’s deteriorating retail core. The project includes straightening A Street and ripping out large sidewalk planters that have made the area something of a maze for motorists and pedestrians.

In addition, bathrooms at the park that are seen as more of a convenience for panhandlers than for residents will be removed and the long-criticized traffic flow around the park redirected and improved.

It’s the latest incarnation of a string of similar revitalization schemes Oxnard has seen in the last 20 years in a largely futile attempt to eliminate blight and inject new life into the area.

The council meeting begins at 7 p.m. Tuesday at City Hall, 305 W. 3rd St.