City of Thousand Oaks Tree City USA Recipient for 13th Consecutive Year

The City of Thousand Oaks will be recognized by the Arbor Day Foundation as a Tree City USA Community for its commitment to urban forestry.  Thousand Oaks has earned this national designation since 1998.  A special ceremony will be held at the May 24, 2011 City Council meeting beginning at 6:00 p.m. recognizing the City of Thousand Oaks as a Tree City USA recipient.  The Tree City USA program is sponsored by the Arbor Day Foundation in cooperation with the National Association of State Foresters and the USDA Forest Service.

To become a Tree City USA community, agencies need to coordinate a citywide approach for tree management that includes tree care as part of its municipal code, an adopted forestry program, and annual recognition of Arbor Day.

“We commend Thousand Oaks elected officials, volunteers and its citizens for providing vital care for its urban forest,” states John Rosenow, Chief Executive and founder of the Arbor Day Foundation.

The City of Thousand Oaks annually maintains 27,000 City street trees of 160 different species. The City releases 700,000 beneficial insects each year as a part of our integrated pest management program to help reduce the need for insecticides.

In 1989, the City Council adopted an Urban Forestry Master Plan.  The overall goal of the Master plan is to provide the City with a sound basis for the creation and management of its community forest and to set policies that provide the greatest benefit for residents.

The City of Thousand Oaks understands the importance of caring for trees because they help reduce the heat island effect in urban areas caused by pavement and buildings.  Trees also help to moderate the climate, conserve water, and provide vital habitat for wildlife.

Note from Conejo Joe:

Other local cities that were on the previous year Tree City USA list include Calabasas (12 years), Ojai (1 year), Oxnard (26 years) and Simi Valley (10 years).

Free Public Outdoor Wi-Fi Service in Downtown Ventura is Now Available

Free Public Outdoor Wi-Fi Access in Downtown Ventura

The City of Ventura announced last week that free wireless broadband service has been launched in the public spaces of Downtown.  Residents and visitors can stay "connected" through the network, provided by the Downtown Parking Management Program, to access the Internet, retrieve e-mail, or surf the Web without being connected to network cables.

The network, "Downtown Ventura Wi-Fi", offers wireless broadband service outdoors along Main Street beginning at Fir Street and continuing to the Museum of Ventura County between Poli and Santa Clara Streets.

Service is available daily during the hours of 6am - Midnight.  Users can access the service for a total of one hour, to assure use by the maximum number of persons at any given time. No special settings, user names or passwords are required.

Locate the network icon on your wireless device to connect.   Users must agree to accept the Terms and Conditions of use before connecting; the agreement also identifies and warns users of the potential security risks associated with the use of a non-secure public network.

Visit www.cityofventura.net for more information.

Ranch Mobile Home Park Rent Adjustment Hearing Will Continue on Monday, January 24th

December 6, 2010 was the date of the initial City of Thousand Oaks Rent Adjustment Commission public hearing to address the application of Andrew V. Hohn and A.V.M.G.H., LLC to increase the monthly space rent at the Ranch Mobile Home Park (2193 Los Feliz Drive) from an average of $132 per month to an average of $719 per month. An increase of $587.45 per month, or roughly 445%.

The first hearing started at 6 p.m. and lasted until around 11 p.m. at which point the Commission determined it would not be feasible to attempt to finish it up that night. So the hearing was continued to next Monday, January 24th. I sat through that initial hearing and frankly, at this point, it has become a blur.

The City prepared an analysis with the help of outside experts and recommended that an increase of $192/month be allowed, phased in over a 5 year period.

It is the job of the Rent Adjustment Commission to review the work of the City, testimony of the experts and questions/answers from the owner's attorneys and experts as well as the pro bono attorney of the tenants. I would anticipate another long night.

For more information and all the details about the hearing, visit http://toaks.org/government/agendas_minutes/agendas/rent_adjustment_commission.asp.

Most of the 72 elderly, low income Ranch tenants will likely be present at this hearing. Many of these tenants submitted letters to the city. Here is one of the handwritten letters:

Re: Ranch Mobile Home Park - Notice of Request for Rent Increase

Dear Mr. Watson:

This letter is in response to the October 8, 2010 City of Thousand Oaks Notice of Hearing regarding a request for rent increase of $587.95/month at Ranch Mobile Home Park. We are very concerned regarding this proposed significant rent increase, which will bring severe hardship on us.

We are 92 and 96 years of age and have resided at Ranch Mobile Home Park for over 19 years. We purchased our mobile home with the understanding that Ranch was a low-income park for seniors and would remain so.

Frank worked his entire life manufacturing truck tires during the war 12-hour shifts and Alfreda worked as a church secretary and insurance administrative assistant. We grew up during the Depression and throughout adulthood continued to live very frugally, forgoing vacations, dining out and entertainment and sharing our car. Despite relatively low wage employment, our frugal lifestyle has allowed us to save for our basic needs during our retirement.

However, this proposed significant rent increase is more than we can possibly afford, no matter how much we scrimp. Our only source of income is Social Security and my modest pension from the tire factory. Our health is poor and we struggle with numerous medical conditions, which require expensive medication co-pays. Our medical insurance alone runs over $700/month.

The proposed rent increase will cause us severe hardship. We would like to live out our few remaining years with dignity, with the ability to afford the basic necessities of lodging, food and adequate medical care. But this rent increase would make that impossible for us. We are unable to sleep with worry about what will happen to us if this proposed rent increase occurs.

Please consider allowing us our basic needs in the sunset of our lives and deny the proposed rent increase for our senior citizens mobile home park.

Camarillo Library Will Become Independent on 1/1/11

On October 13, 2010, the Camarillo City Council voted to withdraw the City from membership in the Ventura County Library System (VCLS) and to operate the Camarillo Library as a municipal public library beginning on January 1, 2011. The decision appeared to be driven by finances...the City is expected to save nearly $700,000/year by running its own library by contracting with a private firm to do so.

The firm selected, Library Systems & Services, LLC (LSSI), has decades of experience in providing contract library support services around the country, and locally administers the entire Riverside County Library System as well as the City of Moorpark’s library. Oversight of the LSSI contract, as well as all strategic planning and policy decisions regarding the Library including personnel policy, will be done by the Camarillo City Council, which will initially serve as the Camarillo Library Board of Trustees. All donations and grant funds received by the Library will remain 100% with the Camarillo Library -- most notably, the generous contributions made by the Friends of the Camarillo Library.

For Ventura County Library patrons with Camarillo as their home library: to keep your Ventura County Library services smooth during this transition, the first step is to change your home location to another Ventura County Library location before 15 December 2010.

Up through 15 December 2010, you may make this change at the Camarillo Library or any other Ventura County Library location (excluding the Museum of Ventura County's Research Library). If you are not able to make the change during this time, on 1 January 2011, your account will be assigned to another library in the VC Library system.

Effective 1/1/11, those seeking to check books out of the Camarillo Library will have to obtain a new library card. Other than the new library card, the transition is expected to transparent.

More info on the City of Camarillo website at www.camarillolibrary.org.