Council OKs 2 Steps to Revive Tapo Street

A new bridge over the Arroyo Simi and a revived farmers’ market are among the City Council’s latest steps in a campaign to revive Tapo Street.

Council members voted unanimously Monday to begin soliciting bids from contractors to build the $1.7-million bridge, which will connect commercial and industrial areas south of the arroyo with businesses along Tapo Street.

The council also approved $8,000 in funding to revive a farmers’ market that closed late last year as attendance dropped.

The money will be used to reimburse the Ventura County Certified Farmer’s Market Assn. for promoting the market’s June reopening.

“This is going to be a top-notch event, and with the city throwing some money behind it, I think it’s going to work,” said Councilwoman Barbara Williamson, who also serves on the Tapo Street Revitalization Committee.

The market will resume operation for a three-month period beginning June 6 and continue every Saturday until Aug. 29 at the old Pic-N-Save lot. It will be inaugurated with a celebration on its first Saturday.

The Tapo Street bridge, part of Simi Valley’s strategy for revitalizing the flagging thoroughfare, will cost the city nothing to build.

The state Economic Development Administration has committed $890,000 for the project. An additional $827,000 will come from Oltmans Investment Co., which owns the property on which the bridge will be built. The company is obliged to contribute to the project under the terms of approval for a nearby office park.

The bid process will take at least a month. Completion is expected by early December.