Ojai City Council

The Ojai City Council is scheduled to vote tonight on a proposal to buy an acre of land to be converted to a park at the city's western entrance. The purchase of the land is tied to a move by the Bronk Vreeland Ojai Ford dealership, which plans to buy the other two-thirds of the parcel as a new home for the business. Southern Pacific Lines has owned the three-acre plot, which once included a railroad depot, since 1898.

The Ojai City Council this week delayed adoption of an emergency ban on drilling water wells. Consideration of the measure was delayed until Oct. 9 after City Atty. Monte Widders asked for more time to research legal issues involved in banning well drilling where a water shortage exists. The Casitas Municipal Water District declared an emergency shortage throughout the Ojai Valley in April that could continue indefinitely. Southern California Water Co.

The Ojai City Council has rejected a cable company's plan to refund money to customers, saying that the offer fails to fully reimburse subscribers the amount they are owed. In response to new Federal Communications Commission regulations to lower cable rates, the city last month ordered Ventura County Cablevision and its parent company, Western Communications, to refund about $6,000 to about 3,360 subscribers.

All five members of the Ojai City Council have endorsed Kathy Long in her bid to replace retiring county Supervisor Maggie Kildee. "After talking one on one with Kathy, I am convinced that her experience and grasp of regional issues make her the most qualified candidate," said Mayor Jim Loebl. "Kathy will listen to residents and work hard to represent Ojai's interests."

A committee exploring the potential annexation of the Ojai Valley into a valleywide city of Ojai is recommending the city and valley merge their respective planning boundaries. Under a proposal being fine-tuned by the Local Government Options Committee, the city of Ojai and the Ventura River Valley Municipal Advisory Council would share so-called areas of interest--boundaries used by planners to study land-use applications.

The Ojai City Council approved a $4.4-million city budget on Tuesday, but voted to freeze spending in a number of areas in anticipation of state cuts in property and vehicle registration revenue for cities. The council's action means that more than $440,000 of planned expenditures will be withheld until more is known about the proposed state budget cuts. Included in the freeze is a 3.

The Ojai City Council heard on Tuesday that the economic recession has not hit Ojai as hard as other Ventura County cities. City Manager Andrew Belknap, presenting an annual midyear budget report, told the council that Ojai is in fair fiscal shape, primarily because last year's predictions of an impending recession forced city officials to plan a very conservative 1991-92 budget.

The Ojai City Council voted Tuesday to help a citizens committee pay a consultant to guide the effort to create a valleywide city. The council voted to give the Ojai Valley Local Government Options Committee nearly $3,000 to pay consultant Robert Braitman, former director of the Local Agency Formation Commission. Braitman, who headed LAFCO for 18 years, resigned in October after a complaint was filed alleging that he sexually harassed a female co-worker. The complaint was later dropped.

The Ojai City Council tonight will discuss a revised plan to build a pedestrian and bicycle path connecting the unincorporated area of Meiners Oaks with Ojai. The walkway would wind through the Arbolada, one of the city's oldest neighborhoods, on Cuyama, Sierra and El Paseo roads. The proposed path has been a source of controversy since February. At tonight's meeting, city officials will present a series of alterations to the proposed route, City Manager Andrew Belknap said.

The Ojai City Council has decided to create a special committee to assist a consultant studying whether Ojai Avenue should become a one-way street through downtown. The seven-member committee will include a member of the Planning Commission, two members of the Redevelopment Agency, two people appointed by the Ojai Chamber of Commerce and two members from the public, City Manager Andrew Belknap said.