City approves $1.46 million to complete construction projects
Money to fix streetscape design flaws
By Daniel Wolowicz camarillo@theacorn.com

Flaws in the design of a pair of streetscape projects along Ventura Boulevard have forced the Camarillo City Council to okay an additional $1.46 million to complete the ongoing construction.

Although city officials said they plan to seek reimbursement from the design firm responsible for the problems- which have to do with poor street drainage- the City Council was not happy about the unexpected costs.

"I vote yes, but it will not be with a happy heart or a smile on my face," Mayor Jan McDonald said moments before the council voted 5-0 during last week's meeting at city hall.

"It's tough, but we need to finish off the project," Councilmember Don Waunch said.

The money will help finance two city beautification projects a few blocks from each other along Ventura Boulevard in Old Town.

The bulk of the additional funding- about $990,000- will go toward the third and final phase of the Ventura Boulevard redevelopment project.

Started last summer, the third phase will finish out the five-year plan to give the historic thoroughfare a fresh look with lighting, landscaping and street upgrades along the shop-lined boulevard between Arneill and Lewis roads.

The plan, originally budgeted at $4.6 million, will have a final price tag of more than $5.5 million, said Assistant City Manager Bruce Feng.

The city will also have to pay an additional $120,000 for a $463,000 project a few blocks north along Ventura Boulevard at the intersection of Carmen Drive, where the city is building a street monument at the northern entrance of Old Town.

According to Feng, Berry General Engineering, the Ventura-based construction company handling the two projects, is asking for an additional $280,000 to finish the work.

Feng said the city will ask Washington Group, the Irvine-based engineering firm that designed the project, to pay for the additional expenses.

He said the city chose Washington Group's design because the firm had submitted the lowest bid.

A Washington Group employee who asked not to be named said the company has worked with the city for the past 15 years. He said the company designed the Pleasant Valley Road project in 2006.

As part of the additional funding, the city earmarked nearly $200,000 to repave Nellora Street- the small strip of roadway between the American Legion Post building and the former Buckhorn Saloon at the south end of Ventura Boulevard. The city will repaint the parking spaces along the narrow, dead-end street.