Practically Inspired

Every homeowner has been there: You find a little extra cash in the budget. Visions of cruise ships and sports cars dance in your head. But in time you spend it to fix the roof. Not so glamorous, perhaps, but it keeps the family dry and in the end you know it was the right move.

That’s why the city of Ventura is wise to spend its $8.6-million jackpot on no-nonsense improvements such as building a community pool and sports park in east Ventura, redesigning the E.P. Foster Library and fixing long-neglected trees, curbs and sidewalks.

The money was set aside by the council in 1987 for a convention center at the Ventura County Fairgrounds, a plan voters promptly rejected. It has been burning a hole in the city’s pocket ever since. There has been no shortage of grand plans for it. Some wanted to use it for a minor league baseball stadium near the Ventura Auto Center, others for an aquarium at Ventura Harbor. For a while the city was using the interest to balance its budget but that fiscally dicey practice has been stopped.

All along, city residents have made it clear that what they really want is better maintained neighborhoods, a spruced up downtown library and an eastside park.

So thumbs up to the City Council for moving in that direction. The results may be a little less grand than some of the other pipe dreams inspired by that pile of money, but sometimes it’s better to be sensible than spectacular.