For all those Thousand Oaks residents who have pulled into the Civic Arts Plaza parking lot on a Friday and found it ominously empty, for all those who have pressed their faces against the glass doors of City Hall and gazed into the darkness, change is near.
The City Council will consider a proposal to return to the five-day workweek at Tuesday's meeting. If the change is approved, which council members said is expected, the new hours will be 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Monday through Friday.
Thousand Oaks officials have been discussing reopening on Fridays since last fall when air pollution requirements were changed to eliminate incentives given to cities that adhered to four-day workweek schedules.
Councilman Mike Markey said the city recently finished negotiations with the employees' union. The 250 city employees probably are not thrilled to be losing their three-day weekends, he said.
"I'm sure that they would rather have it off," Markey said. "But we've got to provide service to the city. It was a big push by the community to open on Fridays."
