Parks district superintendent gives reporter tour of Camarillo's parks
Village at the Park will be new home for AYSO Region 68
By Eliav Appelbaum eliav@theacorn.com

Mark Malloy calls Daryl Wagar "a tree head." That's a compliment.

For Wagar, the parks superintendent for the Pleasant Valley Recreation and Park District, everything is in the details when it comes to Camarillo's parks.

Yes, the trees too.

"He loves trees," said Malloy, a park district board member. "He's totally into it."

Wagar and the district are responsible for taking care of 28 parks, soon to be 29 with the addition of the new sports facility Village at the Park, in the planned community of the same name.

The Ventura resident recently gave a tour of several neighborhood and community parks in the city and described the completed and ongoing capital improvements at multiple parks while driving along the perimeter of a dirt pile that will soon become the Village at the Park, the district's 55-acre crown jewel. He also talked about the constant need to maintain the facilities, especially softball and baseball fields, and the growing concern of vandalism.

The first stop was the Community Park off of Burnley Street next to the park district's Community Center. Wagar, a New York native, talked about the possibility of installing an environmentally conscious dog park, even though the district must still assuage nearby residents' concerns regarding safety, traffic and noise.

"There's a need for a dog park, and we've identified this as a good spot," Wagar said.

Wagar encountered park district board member Paul Rockenstein and his wife, Michael Ann, who were taking a stroll at Arneill Ranch Park on Sweetwater Avenue and Truman Street.

After chatting for a few minutes with the Rockensteins, the park superintendent talked about the difficulty of maintaining the grass that pillows up and tries to spread onto dirt in colder weather. Also during the visit, workers uprooted sprinklers originally installed in the late 1960s.

"Once we replace the sprinkler heads, there'll be more efficient application and even distribution," Wagar said, holding an old sprinkler.

On his way back to the car, Wagar talked about a local man who walks his dog along the track at Arneill with a macaw on his shoulder.

"This guy walks around with a loaf of bread, and seagulls and crows walk behind him eating the crumbs," Wagar said with a laugh.

At the Pleasant Valley Park and Aquatics Center, 1050 Temple Ave., the tennis courts were getting a new coat of paint. Wagar indicated the difference between the two surfaces. A small sliver of the old court remained outside the fence, and it was pockmarked with tiny holes. The newly refurbished surface meets United States Tennis Association standards.

The lights have also been renovated and put on a timer so that they save energy and money.

Even though there's a public skate park on site, vandalism from skaters has become a problem, but it's more of an issue at Mission Oaks Park, said Wagar. Skaters recently sawed off a handrail at Mission Oaks, which cost the district about $1,200 to replace. While graffiti is the biggest concern there, vandals also recently destroyed lights on the gazebo.

Built in 1968, the Aquatics Center had only its second facelift ever this summer. A slide and outdoor splash zone were added; the center was given a new paint job, and new tile lines the floor of the pool.

Dizdar Park at Ventura Boulevard and Glenn Drive in Old Town Camarillo is the city's oldest developed park and was once a cemetery. There are still bodies buried there. The 1-acre neighborhood park is nestled between the Chamber of Commerce and St. Mary Magdalen Church. A statue of Don Adolfo Camarillo on a horse greets visitors on Ventura Boulevard. To the left, a fire station sits empty as vines grow along bare windows.

En route to Mission Oaks, Wagar talked about a potential site for a new park adjacent to Calleguas Creek, near Upland and N. Lewis roads. Dreaming big, the superintendent envisions a bike trail connecting the potential park to Cal State Channel Islands.

"It would be a killer trail," he said.

At Mission Oaks, workers were caring for the three softball diamonds, smoothing out the infield dirt so there would be level transitions with the shallow outfield grass. The tennis courts, which were refurbished in 2006, were also being cleaned up.

Malloy knows about the difficulty in maintaining ball fields. He helps care for the baseball fields at Pleasant Valley Park six or seven times a week, usually arriving at 6 a.m.

"You have to pay close attention to their condition, and water as needed," the board member said. "Dirt is always trying to migrate against the grass. If no one sees anything, no one sees any challenges. But it's always there."

Wagar also stopped at Woodcreek Park on 1200 Woodcreek Road near Tierra Linda Elementary School. During school hours the public can only use a small portion of the facility, something that the superintendent wants changed.

"The schools and district need to work closer together," Wagar said. "The school needed some green space, but couldn't they have taken half and left the other half open? . . . The playground for the public is essentially a chained-in yard."

At another stop, Freedom Park, 275 E. Pleasant Valley Road near Camarillo Airport, there's a BMX bike track, in-line skating for hockey and a remotecontrol track for toy cars. On the premises is the Rise and Shine Preschool, which is expected to open in January. The outdoor pool at Freedom, which closed in 2004, sits empty. There are no plans to reopen it anytime soon.

Crestview Park at Camino Esplendido and Bradford Avenue was recently renovated with a retaining wall, which has three grades and a stairway to the park from Bradford.

The tour wouldn't have been complete without a trip to the future site of Village at the Park. The Village is south of the 101 Freeway between Santa Rosa Road and Dawson Drive exits.

While driving along the bumpy perimeter, Wagar pointed out the only remaining oak tree, where benches would be erected so people can relax and eat lunch in the shade. Because the park will be built below the freeway, the noise from cars will be largely mitigated.

With a newly built housing development, a YMCA and an elementary school in the immediate vicinity, there are plans to build a restaurant in the middle of the site and retail stores to the west.

"We'd like to meet as many needs as we can," Wagar said.

American Youth Soccer Organization Region 68 will play all its games at the Village once it's completed. AYSO, which is based now at Freedom Park, donated $180,000 to the new sports park, which is expected to be finished by next fall.

While no park or park district is perfect, Wagar and the district staff, led by General Manager Dan LaBrado, do their best to accommodate the public. But there is always work to be done.

"The parks are in real good shape, and they're very usable for our public," LaBrado said. "A number of parks are finally coming of age, so we gradually have to start replacing and improving items like play equipment. Believe it or not, many trees have outlived their usefulness. We have so many people using parks, parking lots are worn and in disrepair. We need to upgrade some of them. . . . With public using parks, you begin to assume and expect wear and tear."

Malloy thinks Camarillo residents have a lot to be happy about.

"What makes me the proudest is the overall condition of the turf, which is the most noticeable thing in a park," Malloy said. "It's the thing that grabs your attention first."