Oak Park, Rancho Simi tussle over funds




ON HOLD—The 50-year-old Mae Boyar Community Center is showing its age, but plans for a new building have stalled in a dispute over funds. Acornfile photo

ON HOLD—The 50-year-old Mae Boyar Community Center is showing its age, but plans for a new building have stalled in a dispute over funds. Acorn file photo

For more than 35 years Rancho Simi Recreation and Park District has run the park programs in Oak Park, using funds generated through fees and taxes for maintenance, operation and even the construction of new buildings such as the proposed Mae Boyar Community Center.

But a decision earlier this year by the Oak Park Unified School District to take control of a longtime AM/PM childcare program away from Rancho Simi has put the two jurisdictions at odds—and future funding for both communities in flux.

Oak Park announced it will begin running its own AM/PM program in August.

The school district’s takeover of the AM/PM Club created a financial pinch that could result in program cuts to both Simi Valley and Oak Park parks, as well as delays in funding for the new Mae Boyar Park building in Oak Park.

Rancho Simi relied on the $1.3 million in annual revenue from Oak Park to maintain operations in both communities.

In February, Rancho Simi manager Larry Peterson released a report on the loss of Oak Park AM/PM funds, which he said will have a “significant financial impact” on the entire park district.

Peterson said Rancho Simi will see a loss of 67 part-time jobs by employees who ran the before- and after-school programs at Red Oak and Oak Hills elementary schools and Medea Creek Middle School in Oak Park.

Peterson outlined other cuts in his report, including a reduction in part-time park ranger employees who provide park security. Groundskeeper jobs are expected to be left vacant, and plans for new soccer field lights at Rancho Santa Susana Community Park are now on hold.

“The obvious intent is to reduce operating expenses in response to an imminent loss in program revenues so that the district’s operating budget is rebalanced quickly,” Peterson said.

Rancho Simi will also discontinue an $18,000 contract to maintain Oak Park High School’s tennis courts, Peterson said.

But the biggest blow to Oak Park might be the loss of funding to rebuild its 50-year-old Mae Boyar center. Peterson said his agency’s crimped budget will not be sufficient to cover even a “modest percentage” of the new $2-million building on Kanan Road.

About $112,000 has already been spent on building design and another $440,000 set aside in construction reserves.

“Where is the reserve going now?” asked Janna Orkney, a member of Oak Park’s park committee.

Drew Fountaine, chair of the Oak Park committee, said there were signs of trouble with the Mae Boyar project even before the loss of the AM/PM Club revenues.

“Mae Boyar, in my view, was on its way of being put on hold anyway,” Fountaine said. “It was hugely in excess of what was budgeted. (The loss of AM/PM funds) was the nail in the coffin.”

Oak Park cries foul

According to Orkney, “Rancho Simi may not have paid for (Oak Park schools) field maintenance while receiving the funds for the before-and-after school programs in Oak Park.”

The budget did, however, include field maintenance for Simi schools, Orkney said.

According to Peterson, the total operating budget for Simi and Oak Park recreation programs was about $23 million in the 2016/2017 fiscal year.

Oak Park generated about $3.4 million in taxes, program revenue and facility rentals—but the cost to run the community’s services is higher, he said.

Orkney said, “I don’t think we realized the amount of money that migrated over to Simi.

“We don’t have a board member (on the Rancho Simi board of directors) but hope we will soon. Therefore we have no direct say right now,” she said.

“In my opinion, (Rancho Simi) has been responsive to the needs of the residents and has done a good job of providing great parks and programs, given the limited resources,” Peterson said.

Adding to the discontent is that fact that the Oak Park Committee has only been allowed to meet with Rancho Simi officials four times a year.

“I have no quarrel with them,” Orkney said. “There just needs to be a much clearer park district budget showing how the money is allocated to Oak Park. That is because right now it looks like Oak Park residents put in more money than they get back and that is not right.”

Confusion, Fountaine said, stems from the fact that Simi and Oak Park carry many shared costs, such as park equipment.

“We don’t know what’s buried in the costs,” he said. “We would like more information on how costs are allocated.”

Like Orkney, Fountaine wants to know why the park district was supporting the maintenance of Simi school fields but not Oak Park fields.

Fountaine said he’s been told that Rancho Simi officials will attempt to clarify some of the misunderstanding at its next meeting in July.