Outgoing Grand Jury Lists Health, Safety Concerns

By TRACY WILSON

July 2, 1997 12 AM PT

TIMES STAFF WRITER

Years of poor maintenance have left Ventura County Medical Center in a deplorable state. Facilities for juvenile criminals are old, overcrowded and dangerous.

And inadequate supervision at Casa Pacifica has created a “recipe for disaster” that threatens the county’s most needy children.

Those are among the findings contained in a sweeping 163-page report issued Tuesday by the outgoing Ventura County Grand Jury, which recommends urgent steps be taken to improve the county’s health, public safety and juvenile justice programs.

The findings conclude the tenure of the 1996-97 grand jury, whose 19 members stepped down Tuesday as a new group was sworn in.

The grand jury convenes each July 1 and spends the following 12 months investigating citizen complaints, reporting on the affairs of local government and returning criminal indictments.

Unlike previous grand juries, last year’s panel did not hear many criminal cases--only five indictments were returned compared to three or four times that many in years past.

With only 15 days of their annual term dedicated to such matters, grand jurors turned to a vast array of environmental, civic, health and social service issues. Among their recommendations, they suggest law enforcement agencies across the county improve the way complaints are received, making the process less intimidating and open to review.

They also recommend that security be improved by adding metal detectors at entrances to the Ventura and Simi Valley courthouses.

One of the most comprehensive inquiries launched by the grand jury last year focused on the county’s constantly thwarted plans for consolidation and modernization of Ventura County Medical Center.

The improvement plan was defeated during an election last year, prompting grand jurors to evaluate the possible consequences.

Of the center’s 30 buildings, six have been abandoned because of asbestos and lead contamination as well as lack of maintenance, the report said.

What jurors recommended was a plan to replace some facilities while generally improving the maintenance of other medical center buildings.

While acknowledging that the county’s refurbishment plans were rebuffed by voters, the grand jury stressed that another solution must be found to prevent the center from closing altogether.

Another area of dire need is the county’s juvenile justice system--not a new area of concern.

An outside consulting firm hired by the county in 1990 recommended construction of a 42-bed facility to accommodate the growing population of juvenile offenders.

Since then, other agencies and grand juries have revisited the issue and stressed the need for new facilities, intervention and counseling programs.

“Since prior grand jury reports seem to have been ignored,” the 1996-97 report said, “we wanted to know the extent to which previous recommendations had been implemented, if at all.”

The panel’s conclusion: The juvenile system has “major problems.”

The jury concluded that Proposition 172 funds have not made their way to pay for juvenile courts or housing facilities, and suggested that the Board of Supervisors launch a countywide bond measure to pay for needed facilities.

“I agree that the conditions are in crisis,” said Supervisor Kathy Long, suggesting that a statewide bond measure might be a better solution. “We are not the only county facing the juvenile explosion.”

The grand jury also suggested that Casa Pacifica, the Camarillo complex for troubled children, expand its facilities for housing juveniles who have been taken out of their homes for various reasons.

Additional security and supervision are also musts, the report said, to protect children from dangerous situations, such as a recent incident in which a toddler was sexually assaulted by an older child.

“The main problem at Casa Pacifica is that it is making a valiant effort to be everything Ventura County needs in specialized child-care services but can’t afford,” said the report, which added that additional private fund-raising must be considered.

In response to those findings, county supervisors said the grand jury was addressing an area already under scrutiny.

“This discussion has been out there publicly already,” Long said. “I agree we do need to look at the type of care at Casa Pacifica. . . . Working on separating ages better, I think we’re all looking at solutions.”

Supervisors Chairman John K. Flynn said grand jurors targeted many of the key concerns already voiced to the board.

“The point they make here is a good point,” he said. “I’ve appointed Supervisors [Judy] Mikels and [Susan K.] Lacey to work with the Casa Pacifica board of directors and staff on this. We’re taking aggressive steps.”

The grand jury did not limit its inquiries solely to county government programs and operations. During its tenure, the panel received and investigated numerous citizen complaints, including two against Oxnard city leaders.

The grand jury recommended that Oxnard officials reconsider an arrangement that allows elected officials to play golf for free at the publicly owned River Ridge course.

According to the report, Oxnard City Council members maintained that by playing at the course, they are upholding their “responsibility of monitoring the operations and conditions of the City’s golf course.”

The report concludes that Oxnard officials have the legal right to accept free play, but urges the city to rethink the arrangement.

Oxnard Mayor Manuel Lopez vowed to follow through on the grand jury’s recommendation by calling for abolition of free golf.

“The grand jury has been very kind and liberal with us, and we would be well advised to change the procedure,” he said. “It certainly doesn’t do anything to enhance public officials in the eyes of the public.”

But Councilman Tom Holden defended the free golf practices.

“As a golfer, when I visit the course, I can evaluate the upkeep, the slow play, all the things from a customer’s standpoint,” he said.

The grand jury also recommended that the Oxnard City Council initiate an audit of the city’s Performing Arts Center.

Questions had been raised about the allocation of funds for performances organized by the Mexihcayotl Society, a group co-founded by former Councilman Andres Herrera.

While the report says the former councilman, who is not named specifically, did not use his authority to benefit his family, which participated in performances, it states that Oxnard City Council members should monitor the center’s budget and contracts with performers.

The grand jury also investigated complaints about the spraying of methyl bromide on agricultural crops that border housing developments in Ventura County.

Among its recommendations, the grand jury suggested that residents who live adjacent to fields be notified of the dates and times when the pesticide is being applied. The panel also recommended that meteorologists be consulted prior to methyl bromide being used.

The Environmental Defense Center in Ventura applauded the grand jury for taking on the issue.

“This is a first, that a grand jury has taken on this problem at all,” EDC analyst Carla Bard said.

Bard also praised the grand jury’s inquiry into nitrate contamination in the ground-water basin beneath the Oxnard Plain. The panel recommended that septic tanks be removed, testing of ground water be increased, and state water agencies work together to develop a more comprehensive water management plan.

Correspondents Chris Chi, Brenda Loree and Richard Warchol contributed to this story.

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Panel’s Recommendations

The 1996-97 Ventura County Grand Jury made a series of recommendations to improve health, public safety and social services across the county. Here are some of the panel’s suggestions:

* The Board of Supervisors should put a bond measure before the county’s voters to raise money for the construction of a new housing complex for juvenile offenders.

* Additional housing and increased supervision are necessary to protect troubled children at Casa Pacifica.

* Before spraying the pesticide methyl bromide on crops that border housing tracts, farmers should warn nearby residents.

* Aging buildings at the Ventura County Medical Center campus should be replaced with new facilities, and a maintenance plan should be created to prevent future disrepair.

* Free golfing privileges for Oxnard’s elected officials should be reevaluated by the City Council.

* Security should be improved by adding metal detectors at entrances to the Ventura and Simi Valley courthouses.

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New Jurors

Members serving the next term:

Barry Armstrong

Eldon Bentley

Harold Brooks

Antonio Caballero

Ollie Chenevert

Bobbie J. Diehl

Diane Evans