'Mr. Oak Park' takes a step back after 17 years

WENDY PIERRO/Acorn Newspapers JOB WELL DONE- Oak Park resident David Ross leans against a tree in his backyard garden last week. Ross was the president of the Oak Park Community Foundation for 17 years. Although he's known by some as "Mr. Oak Park," most residents might not realize how much of an influence David Ross has had on the small community.

In February Ross stepped down as president of the Community Foundation for Oak Park after 17 years as its leader. Eva Larson, former vice president of the nonprofit group, was appointed to succeed Ross, who will remain on the board as a trustee.

The Oak Park Community Foundation recruits volunteers and raises money for community programs, including Friends of the Oak Park Library, parentfaculty clubs at Oak Park High and Medea Creek Middle schools, the Oak Park High Grad Night Committee and Oak Park Performing Arts Boosters. The group also conducts community forums for the school board and Municipal Advisory Council elections.

"We're pleased that he and his institutional memory remain on the foundation's board of trustees," said Harvey Kern, foundation secretary. "Eva Larson has served as vice-president for some time and will now lead us into the future with great distinction."

A 35-year resident, Ross has been active as an elected official, appointed leader or volunteer in nearly every organized Oak Park group. Ross also is also a docent at Gardens of the World in Thousand Oaks and served on the Ventura County grand jury from 2005-07.

The Ventura County Board of Supervisors recently honored Ross for his accomplishments.

Ross was elected to the Oak Park MAC in 1975 and served as chair in 1981. He left after being elected to the school board, on which he served from 1981-89. From 1992-98 he was an elected official on the Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee, helping advise Rancho Simi Parks and Recreation on Oak Park's facilities. In 1980 Ross was appointed trustee for the foundation and became president in 1984.

He recalls the exact day he and his wife, Evelyn, and their two children moved from Canoga Park to Bayberry Street in Oak Park. It was Friday, the 13th of July, 1973.

"My wife reminds me every so often that 13 is not always bad luck," Ross said.

At the time, gas was 47 cents a gallon, there was a culvert under Kanan Road so cows from a nearby cattle ranch could cross to the other side to graze, and sheep were often seen in the hills munching on dry brush. The closest supermarket was Whizin's on Agoura Road.

Ross helped create the Oak Park Civic Association, a volunteer group that planned community events, including a July fourth parade and picnic at Mae Boyar Park.

The only school in the community was Brookside Elementary. Middle and high school students were bused to Simi Valley schools. Some families moved away when their children reached middle school age to avoid the busing, Ross recalled.

The community's master plan originally called for a population of 25,000 but was scaled down after the market for condominiums planned for the area faltered and the demand for single-family homes increased. The six elementary schools slated, one adjacent to each neighborhood park including Deerhill and Eagle View, were cut to the current three.

Ross is proud of helping form the Oak Park Unified School District, which was approved by voters in 1977. The district took title of Brookside from Simi Valley Unified and created a high school and middle school where the Oak Park district office currently is.

The two biggest challenges Ross sees facing Oak Park are declining school enrollment and aging infrastructure. A school district's fixed costs, which include building maintenance, are dependent on variable enrollment and state funds. Ross supports the issuance of interdistrict permits to help raise needed funds.

"When your enrollment declines you have less money for your fixed costs," Ross said.

The community's aging infrastructure also is of concern to Ross. He'd like to see a redevelopment agency formed to help offer low-interest loans to homeowners who cannot afford to replace roofs, cracking driveways and sidewalks, and antiquated plumbing and electrical systems.

"No one wants to acknowledge that things are not as perfect as they are supposed to be, but if it's not dealt with it will begin to affect property values," Ross said.

Ross earned a math degree from UCLA in 1964. He worked as a computer software engineer until his retirement in 2003. His son Allen lives in Ventura with his wife and two children. His daughter Heather lives in the central prairies of Canada with her husband.

Ross credits his father, an active volunteer, with teaching him the meaning of civic pride.

"When we moved to Oak Park I realized that nothing good would happen, nothing we needed would be provided unless the community was active," Ross said. "Things happen when people get involved."