East Ventura Community Council
Minutes of July 20, 2023 General Meeting Via Zoom

There were 4 Board Members in Attendance, Sara Ostrander, Dean Katz, Norene Charnofsky, and John Kunsemiller

There were 16 attendees, including guest speaker Leona Rollins from Housing Services, and Sandra Tovar from Parks and Recreation

The meeting was called to order by Sara Ostrander at 7:01 PM.

The Ventura City Police report: The report was given by John Kunsemiller because both commanders were working at the X-games opening event. In the past 30 days, there were 14 assaults in our area of the city, however, 12 of those were domestic issues. There was 1 breaking and entering, 7 vandalism offenses, 4 drug offenses, 4 fraud offenses, 10 theft/stolen property offenses, and 1 weapons violation.

Members expressed concern about the 4th of July fireworks throughout the city. Dean K. noted that some cities are using drones to monitor and charge offenders. Sara O. gave the fireworks non-emergency hotline number (805) 650-8010.

Police Announcements: The X-games will be starting tomorrow, and the police will be managing traffic. Tip a Cop , a fundraiser for Special Olympics will be held at Finney’s on July 25th. County Fair runs from August 2nd to 13th, and traffic will be affected. Saturday August 26, will be a Block Party at the Ventura City Police Station.

Guest Speaker: Leona Rollins, City of Ventura Housing Services Manager, outlined programs they are working on in co-operation with Ventura County. The Hope & Solutions committee meets on the 4th Tuesday at 3:00 in City Hall to work on homelessness. She outlined the various grants the city has received or applied for. Leona reported that the revised Housing Element is going to be discussed on July 25 at 3:00 and July 26 at 6:00 with the housing commission. The Housing Element will be presented for approval by the City Council on August 7th which is crucial for obtaining grants. The new Inclusionary Housing Ordinance is managed by her office and new buildings must have 10% affordable housing. The Patrol Task force works to contact and assist the homeless population. The Valentine Road Project (the La Quinta Inn) will have 134 studio units and will offer on-site wrap around services. The Ventura Springs Project will have 122 units to be completed June 2024 and is located at Cosgrove and Telephone. There will be a project across from the college which will include family and single units. The city is working with People’s Self Help Housing on this project.

Ms Rollins fielded questions from our members on overnight parking for RV (for Ventura residents only, by faith based groups), the number of individuals using the river/barrancas for shelter (28 – 32), the number of people living in cars (25-30) , the restrictions on shelter housing for families with teenage children, and possibilities of building on city owned parcels is being investigated. She also explained the One-Stop Ventura program which offers services once a week to launder clothes, etc.

Secretary’s Report: Due to problems editing the website, the minutes are not available on the website.

Treasurer’s Report: We have a balance of $798.74. There has been a $100.00 donation by Grocery Outlet.

EVCC Announcements: Recognized our Anchor Sponsor – Grocery Outlet

September 9th there will be a 9/11 memorial stair climb at the Crowne Plaza Hotel. Volunteers and donations are welcome.

Residents are invited to take an online survey with feedback on the General Plan Land Use Element. Respond by August 2.

Telephone Rd water line replacement is ongoing since July 10.

July 25th, the Ventura Land Trust will sponsor a round table discussion at the Poinsettia Pavilion concerning the Mariano Rancho property.

Don Penman was appointed interim city manager

Love Ventura will be our August speaker

Phil Nelson from Public Works will be our September speaker

Transportation Active Plan group is asking for feedback. The plan seeks to increase bicycle safety and make curbs and walkways ADA compliant.

The city council representatives are at the X-games opening tonight.

Old Business: Sara O. requested volunteers for Secretary and Treasurer, but no one volunteered.

New Business: The person who was helping with the website is no longer able to assist us. We have a plan and outline but we need volunteer assistance. The site uses Word Press.

Guest Speaker: Marina Porter, Vice Chair of the Downtown Parking Advisory Committee outlined the current news about parking in the city. Several parking workshops were conducted to help with planning. An exterior electronic sign was added to the parking structure downtown to show the available spaces. For the fiscal year ended on June 30, $680,000 dollars was generated in parking revenue. The Harbor Beach structure repairs are underway. License plate recognition technology has been implemented to make sure the parking fees are paid. This technology can be used by the police to look for a suspect vehicle. Main Street Moves is considering a flex model to open up parking, because there is a deficit of parking in the downtown area.

Ms Porter answered questions by members including how much profit is there from parking (figure not known, but any revenues is going to the parking authority), information about parking structure at Santa Clara and Palm (still in planning), residential parking problems (new housing parking is mandated by state law), and Darling Road issues near schools (double yellow line to be painted before school starts).

Community Discussion: Support was expressed for a community center at Kimball Park. Sandra Tovar offered to come back with a report on the next project at Kimball Park.

The Meeting was adjourned at 8:22 pm

Respectfully Submitted

Sara Ostrander