Category Archives: City News

Find out the winners of the Take 1 Online Short Film Festival

The winners of the 5th Annual Water: Take 1 Online Short Film Festival will be announced at a free event on Wednesday, March 22 at the Channel Islands National Park Visitor Center located at 1901 Spinnaker Drive in Ventura Harbor.

Water: Take 1 aims to create a greater awareness of water as a valuable resource by inviting filmmakers locally and worldwide to submit short films in any genre that address the topic of water. Last year’s film “The Conservation Enforcer” took the Grand Prize, earning the filmmaker a cash prize of $1,500. Additional prizes will be awarded for the Audience Choice Award, Best Student Short Film, and Ventura Vision Award.

The ceremony will kick off with appetizers and refreshments followed by a screening of the finalist films and the announcement of the winners. Visit www.watertake1.com to see the films entered.

Space is limited. Make sure to RSVP at 652-4587.

City of Ventura classes and tours

Check out hundreds more on web-site.

Call 658-4726 to register, if you already have an ACTIVENET account online, visit www.cityofventura.net . Classes held at the Barranca Vista Center, 7050 E Ralston St unless noted.

Canine Body Language Seminar  18 years-adult
3/18     Sa        10 am-12 pm              $20      #7699
Identify signs of anxiety versus playfulness and open new lines of communication with your pet. Led by Registered Veterinary Technician/Certified Professional Dog Trainer Shannon Coyner. Please leave your dog at home for this seminar. Classes held at 3521Arundel Circle #B.

Erle Stanley Gardner’s Ventura  teen-adult
3/18     Sa        1-3 pm             $20      #8089
Meet at City Hall’s front steps for admission to the former courtroom where the crusading lawyer and author of 84 Perry Mason books held audiences spellbound during such cases as “Fairchild vs Burnet.”

Learn Digital Photography  16 years-adult
3/18     Sa        3-6 pm             $65      #8195
Brent covers camera use, lenses, equipment, tripods and understanding exposure and composition from basic concepts through advanced techniques for beginner/intermediate digital photographers.

3D Printing Level 1  8-16 years
3/22-5/17         W         4-5:30 pm        $149+$25 supply fee  #7961
New age artists and designers will scan, model, morph and 3D print their projects using fun and easy Google Sketch-up and Autodesk Tinkercad. No class 4/5.

Weird California!  12 years-adult
3/23-4/6           Th        6:30-7:30 pm   $40      #7959
Probe our local unsolved mysteries and murders and learn about our pygmy mammoths, intricate Chumash canoes, wooden Mission bells, an 1847 skirmish and 1945 Japanese bombing.

Lunchtime Fitness with Jackie  18 years-adult
3/24-4/26         M/W/F             11:30 am-12:30 pm    $60      #7676
We mix low-impact aerobics, muscle toning and stretching with a few dance moves, some Pilates and yoga. Instructor Jackie Ringhof.

Mysterious Main Street Tour  teen-adult
3/25     Sa        8-10 pm           $20      #8090
Meet at City Hall’s front steps for a “night walk” through Ventura’s historic district with stories (some ghostly) about its lost treasures, gunfighters, battles and visits by a famed battleship and a president soon to be assassinated.

 

City of Ventura 2016 Uniform Crime Reporting – Part 1 Crime Statistics

The City of Ventura’s Part 1 Per Capita Crime Index decreased slightly from 39.18 crimes per one-thousand residents in 2015 to 38.04 crimes per one-thousand residents in 2016. Property Crimes and Violent Crimes dropped a combined 3.59% as compared to 2015, resulting in 154 fewer Part 1 Crimes reported to the Ventura Police Department.  Property Crimes decreased by 147 total crimes, or 3.76 %, while Violent Crimes decreased by 7 total crimes, or 1.87%.

Significant reductions in larcenies and residential burglaries accounted for the reported decrease in property crimes.  There were 2838 larceny/thefts reported in 2016, 203 fewer than were reported in 2015. Residential burglaries dropped by 16.29%, representing 50 fewer when compared to 2015. Despite the overall decrease in property crimes, Ventura experienced a 5% rise in burglaries city-wide due to a 27.49% increase in non-residential burglaries.  Auto thefts increased from 259 to 284 or 9.65 %, and reported arson crimes totaled 12, one more than 2015. Property loss from Part 1 Property Crimes totaled $6.3 million.

The most notable drop in violent crime was in the number of reported robberies, which decreased 12.10% from 124 in 2015 to 109 in 2016. Reported rapes in 2016 decreased by one from the previous year from 54 to 53.  Aggravated assaults increased from 195 to 198 and homicides increased from 2 in 2015 to 8. Six of the homicide investigations have been closed by arrests.

The Ventura Police Department handled approximately 98,812 calls for service during 2016. This represents a .8% increase from the previous year.  Arrests have continued to increase each year, with 6637 in 2016, compared to 6164 in 2015. 

VENTURA POLICE DEPARTMENT – PART ONE UCR CRIMES – 2016 (FINAL)
Part I Offenses Jan to Dec 2016 Jan to Dec 2015 %change # Diff Crime per 1,000 pop
HOMICIDE 8 2 300.00% 6 0.07
RAPE 53 54 -1.85% -1 0.49
ROBBERY 109 124 -12.10% -15 1.00
AGGRAVATED ASSAULT 198 195 1.54% 3 1.82
TOTAL VIOLENT CRIMES 368 375 -1.87% -7 3.39
BURGLARY – TOTAL 628 598 5.02% 30 5.78
BURGLARY – Residential 257 307 -16.29% -50 2.37
BURGLARY – Non Residential 371 291 27.49% 80 3.42
LARCENY-THEFT 2838 3041 -6.68% -203 26.14
VEHICLE THEFT (10851) 284 259 9.65% 25 2.62
ARSON 12 11 9.09% 1 0.11
TOTAL PROPERTY CRIMES 3762 3909 -3.76% -147 34.65
TOTAL PART I CRIMES 4,130 4284 -3.59% -154 38.04
DOF Population E-1 Table   108,557      

 

Downtown Ventura Partners reducing cigarette butt litter downtown

Downtown Ventura Partners will be cleaning your butts with new efforts to reduce cigarette butt litter downtown

by Environmental Specialist, Lars Davenport – Ventura’s Environmental Sustainability Division

If you’ve visited downtown Ventura recently you may have noticed the newly installed cigarette butt cans in areas with the worst cigarette butt litter problems. While smoking is not permitted downtown or in almost any other public space in the city, there is still a considerable amount of cigarette butt litter making its way into our streets, storm drains, waterways, and beaches. In fact, cigarette butts are the most commonly collected item during local beach cleanups.

In the first month that the five downtown cigarette butt cans were installed, all of the cans were being used frequently, and Surfrider estimated that 4,000 cigarette butts were collected from the new cans.

These efforts are part of a larger Hold On To Your Butt (HOTYB) campaign that Surfrider is leading, with support from the City of Ventura and other local groups. Downtown is the first area in the city to receive cigarette butt cans, with more cans set to be installed on City property in other areas soon.

Surfrider also offers a community cigarette butt can sponsorship program, where you can sponsor a collection can at your business or in your community. Email [email protected] or visit ventura.surfrider.org/ for more information.

 

 

 

 

 

 

2017 State of the City-Ventura: Growing Stronger While Keeping Its Charm

Mayor Nasarenko stated “Ventura remains a magnificent and unique city to live in” during his State of the City presentation.

by Ventura Mayor Erik Nasarenko

Ventura has so much to celebrate, for it remains a well-managed and beautiful beach town that Sunset Magazine recently described as the “off-ramp to paradise.”

In terms of our fiscal management, revenues taken in by the city have exceeded expenditures since 2013, meaning Ventura is living within its means, balancing year-over-year budgets and even ending recent fiscal years with a slight surplus.  Growth in the transient occupancy tax—commonly referred to as the hotel bed tax—along with increases in sales and property taxes have strengthened the city’s financial position and enabled residents to receive outstanding police, fire and park services, among other city-delivered benefits.

Last November’s successful Measure O campaign, which nearly 59 percent of Ventura voters supported, will bring an additional $11 million annually to city coffers, with the first quarterly installment due to arrive this July.  Residents can expect to see the city perform immediate infrastructure improvements with the much-needed revenue, including street repaving, sidewalk repair, tree well maintenance and landscaping of road medians.  As promised in the ballot statement, the city will also allocate funds to maintain Fire Station 4 and its 9 firefighters and paramedics so that east end residents continue to receive rapid and effective fire and paramedic response.  I would also like to work with my colleagues to complete Ventura Community Park and fulfill the 2005 Master Plan by creating sports courts and a library component for one of Ventura’s largest recreational centers.

As the city grows, so, too, do many of its flagship businesses.   The worldwide outdoor apparel company and environmental steward Patagonia is scheduled to expand its Westside campus.  Similarly, the Trade Desk, which started with literally one desk eight years ago in office space adjacent to city hall, is now a publicly-traded tech company on the NASDAQ stock exchange that is looking to expand its Chestnut-street headquarters.

The health care industry in Ventura will see major changes in 2017 as Ventura County Medical Center (VCMC), Community Memorial (CMH)and Kaiser are all expected to open new medical facilities in the year ahead.  These wellness enterprises will not only bring high-paying jobs to Ventura but will also provide residents with outstanding emergency, acute and long-term care.

But, like many cities across California, Ventura faces an array of fiscal pressures, some known and others still uncertain.  For example, escalating retirement costs will continue to encroach upon our budget, especially given the fact that the California Public Employee Retirement System (CalPERS) recently told its member cities—like Ventura—that it is downgrading its assumed rate of return on its investments, which means we will have to make up the shortfall internally, an amount expected to climb above $6 million over the next several years.  The city has already budgeted this expected increase into its long-term fiscal outlook, recognizing that—based upon predicted revenue—we should be able to absorb the new costs.  But if the economy begins to retract or CalPERS reduces its assumed investment return further, this forecast could easily change.

Speaking of uncertainty, the city is unsure of how much funding, if any, it will receive from Washington, D.C. in the form of Community Development Block Grants, or CDBG funds.  Historically used to help fund assistance for low-income mobile home residents, the Avenue library, and the winter warming homeless shelter, among other worthy projects, CDBG dollars are at risk of being defunded, according to the National Conference of Mayors.  This loss would hurt Ventura, particularly its most vulnerable residents.

And water scarcity, despite the heavy rains, will remain a major challenge and fiscal stress for Ventura.  According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, much of Ventura and Santa Barbara counties remain in “Extreme Drought,” the only two counties statewide to be given this designation.  With Lake Casitas at only 38 percent of capacity and groundwater basins subject to new state and local regulations, Ventura has to identify new sources of water.  To this end, the city is now studying a connection with the State Water Project, a system of canals, pipelines and channels that brings water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and Colorado River to Ventura County and much of southern California.  The city is also exploring construction of a water reuse facility that would treat wastewater to the highest cleaning standards and subject it to strict safety and regulatory scrutiny before returning drinkable water back to the customer.

Finally, we are making progress to address homelessness in the city.  Next month the city council will consider a change to its zoning laws that would broaden the geographic area of Ventura where crisis housing and supportive services, such as mental health counseling, substance abuse assistance and housing advice, can co-locate.  The proposed regulations would allow for a maximum 55-person occupancy for up to six months, utilizing either a re-purposed structure or a new building.   I look forward to working with my colleagues to begin a serious discussion about using Measure O funding to jump start the project in conjunction with other government, non-profit and private sector supporters.

Ventura remains a magnificent and unique city to live in, and the Ventura City Council is dedicated to keeping it that way.  Whether you enjoy an afternoon looking at the boats moored at our Harbor, or prefer a walk along the Ventura Botanical Gardens before dining at a local (not chain!) restaurant Downtown, Ventura has something to offer for everyone.  Let’s continue to work together to grown stronger while maintaining our charm.

City of Ventura 2016 Employee and Supervisor of the Year announced

Right: Police Chief Ken Corney, Tracey Coert and Mark Watkins at the awards ceremony. Left: Fire Chief David Endaya, Thomas Hoffman and Mark Watkins at the awards ceremony.

On Feb. 15 the City of Ventura held an awards ceremony and recognized nineteen employees nominated for 2016 Employee or Supervisor of the Year. These awards acknowledge city employees who are role models for public service and exemplify the city’s commitment to excellence.

The thirteen nominees for Employee of the Year were:

Police Services Officer Tracey Coert was selected as 2016 Employee of the Year.

Fire Captain Thomas Hoffman was recognized as 2016 Supervisor of the Year.

At the ceremony City Manager Mark Watkins said, “The awards ceremony is my favorite event of the year. It’s great to see the pride in each department head’s eyes when they introduce and speak about their nominees. Congratulations to Fire Captain Thom Hoffman and Police Services Officer Tracey Coert, these two exemplify the dedication, professionalism and personal commitment of our outstanding workforce and represent the best of our employees commitment to serve the community.”

The Polymath of City Hall-Peter Brown

For more than two decades Peter Brown has been focusing on the local homeless problem.

by Randal Beeman

If the movie Caddyshack taught us anything, it is that golf is both therapy for the tired soul and a metaphor for the fundamental contradictions in life. Peter Brown tries to play a lot of golf. Peter Brown NEEDS golf, because Peter Brown is a busy guy who lives with a lot of contradictions.

As both the Code Enforcement Manager and Community Development Manager for the City of Ventura, Brown is a perpetual motion machine, fielding interview questions at his desk whilst answering emails, checking texts, and signing a stack of forms at his cluttered workstation. Brown, 53, a White Plains, New York native and a UCSB grad, is tasked with two seemingly contradictory missions.

For example, Brown’s Code staff recently had to play the bad cop and red tag (shut down) at 10 unit apartment complex near downtown because the owner had completed unpermitted renovations that were not up to code and unsafe for the (now at risk of being homeless) tenants. He points out that his Code Enforcement Officers wear kevlar vests on these ventures, and they have the same status as other law enforcement members, including extra penalties for anyone committing an assault on one of his team. Though the landlord has to pay two month’s rent, those tenants with fixed or modest incomes face finding an apartment in a tight marketplace with rents often reaching over $2000 a month for a mediocre unit. Peter Brown the Community Development Manager now has to play the good cop and work within the social and housing systems to help find these folks a place to live.

Brown notes that in a city of 107,500, a staff of only four Code Enforcement Officers (and their support squad of another 3.5 FTE’s), is overwhelmed by the weight of their duties, They deal with life threatening issues first and foremost, but his office also fields calls for plumbing and sewage violations, people camping in their cars, illgal signage on local businesses, stray basketball goals on a cul-de-sac, and complaints related to short term rental sites like Airbnb. Much of what concerns Brown relates to the dearth of affordable housing in Ventura.

Ventura County is one of the most expensive housing and rental markets in the nation, contributing to the homeless problem and making home ownership difficult for young families. A town known for slow growth policies, Venturans openly lament the lack of affordable housing for their offspring, Brown opines, while simultaneously opposing the construction of affordable multi-family units, especially if it impacts their particular neighborhood.

Brown’s passion and the bulk of his more than two decades working for the city has been focused on the local homeless problem, an issue upscale tourist oriented towns like Ventura have labored with for years – in Ventura with some modest success. The city’s official homeless count dropped from around 700 in 2011 to just over 300 in 2016, though Brown cautions the number will probably go up slightly this year.

The Safe and Clean Public Places Initiative, adopted by a very creative City Council in November 2011, seeks to link the homeless population with the drug treatment, mental health care, and social services support network in the community. With the Ventura Police Department Patrol Task Force leading the way, Brown and his team visit the sundry homeless camps on the fringes of Ventura. They specifically ask – “how can we help you out of this situation? What do you need?”

Brown emphatically states he does not make policy, he only implements policies directed from the City Council and City Manager. One project he hopes comes to fruition is Ventura joining with Oxnard, Thousand Oaks and the County CEO’s office to convince all of the communities of Ventura County to sign a MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) stating that since social service agency laden Ventura and Oxnard are disproportionately impacted by the homeless problem, that the other cities step forward to ‘take care of their own’.

He brings out charts and statistics showing where police and fire vagrancy related calls for service are most frequent, and the hotspots in downtown and West Ventura concern Brown. Brown goes back to his computer screen as the phone rings and there is another knock at the door. And somewhere a golf ball fears its next encounter with Peter Brown.

Vol. 10, No. 11 – March 1 – March 14, 2017 – City Classes

City of Ventura Barranca Vista Imagination Center classes. Check out hundreds more on web-site
Call 658-4726 or 654-7553 to register, if you already have an ACTIVENET account online, visit www.cityofventura.net Classes and events held at the Barranca Vista Center ~ 7050 Ralston Street in Ventura unless otherwise noted

Mad Science-Nasa Space Academy 5-12 years
3/7-4/18 Tu 4:30-5:30 $115+ $35 supply fee #8190
Explore our solar system and experience an astronaut’s life as you build a space station, compare the Earth’s atmosphere to other planets, follow stellar life cycles, find hidden objects with laser technology and build your own Skyblazer II Rocket to take home! No class 4/4.

Courage in the Kitchen 16 year-adult
3/7 & 3/21 Tu 6-8 pm $80+$20 monthly supply fee #8053
Get processed foods out of the pantry and learn to cook with fresh, seasonal and budget-friendly ingredients. We’ll meet to study recipes, learn new techniques and create meals that include vegan and vegetarian options. For view each month’s menus visit www.chefjudy.net. The $20 supply fee is due to instructor at first class.

COOKING WITH JUDY GILLIARD
Pottery and Ceramic Hand Building 16 years-adult
3/8-4/19 W 6-8 pm $110+$15 materials fee #7969
Pinch, coil, use slab construction, glaze and decorate to create your own ceramic masterpieces. Instructor Kim Clarke. No class 3/22.

Beginning Argentine Tango 18 years-adult
3/8-4/12 W 6:30-7:30 pm $69/person #8031
Tango in no time with our “true basics in six weeks” class. Classes held at The House of Dance, 3007 Bunsen #E.

Flamenco Dance 18 years-adult
3/8-3/29 W 7:30-8:30 pm $75 #8193
Learn Spain’s passionate gypsy dance form and its cultural significance as you build up your flexibility, grace, fitness and confidence. Instructor Wendy Castellanos. Classes held at Namba, 47 S Oak St.

Knights and Castles of the Middle Ages 6-12 years
3/13-3/27 M 4-5 pm $40 #7909
Discover the “knight life” of castles, combat, art and cathedrals as you learn how to make catapults and other crafts.

Belly Dance-4-Fitness 18 years-adult
3/13-4/10 M 6-7 pm $55 #7673
Dress comfortably to shimmy, twist and tone in this fun cardio class that includes a warmup, belly dance workout, choreography and cool down. Instructor Anja Christy.

Basic Guitar 9 years-adult
3/14-4/25 Tu 7-8:30 pm $55 #8040
Bring your own acoustic or electric guitar to learn folk and pop strums, patterns and chord progressions. No class 4/4. At Dudley House, 197 N Ashwood St. Instructor Randy Covington.

Ventura Police Community Academy

The Ventura Police Department’s Community Academy is coming! Have you ever wanted to know more about police operations? Not the ‘TV’ version, but the actual facts? Here’s your chance! The Community Academy will take you on a ride-along with a patrol officer, show you what a SWAT team does, let you experience a simulated firearms training course, give you a look at issues officers face in our community and much more.

The Community Academy is scheduled to begin April 19 and will be held on 9 consecutive Wednesday nights from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. with a final class and graduation on June 14. Each night features a new topic, with speakers, demonstrations, and discussions. We’ll answer your questions and give you an in-depth behind the scenes look at police operations.

Community Academy participants are selected by the Ventura Police Department through the application process. Applications are available from the Department or through the online web application found at http://www.cityofventura.net/pd/community-academy.

Potential candidates must meet the following criteria: minimum age of 18 years, live or work in the City of Ventura, no felony convictions, no misdemeanor convictions within two years of application.

Ventura Police Department, 1425 Dowell Dr. Ventura, CA 93003

*May 24 class held at the Criminal Justice Training Center in Camarillo

Wednesdays, April 19-June 14, 2017: Class dates: April 19, April 26, May 3, May 10, May 17, May 24, May 31, June 7 and June 14.

For more information, please contact Civic Engagement Specialist Ashley Bautista 805-339-4317 or [email protected].

Vol. 10, No. 10 – February 15 – February 28, 2017 – City classes

City of Ventura Barranca Vista Imagination Center classes. Check out hundreds more on our web-site
Call 658-4726 or 654-7553 to register, if you already have an ACTIVENET account online, visit www.cityofventura.net Classes and events held at the Barranca Vista Center, 7050 Ralston St. unless otherwise noted

Painting Flowers, Bugs, and Trees 7-12 years
2/21-3/21 W 4-5:30 pm $50+$10 materials fee #7972
Paint landscapes with trees, mountains, waves, waterfalls and other details using many techniques. Join artist Jen Livia at 4601 Telephone Rd #112 each week to explore new subjects
and paint them in a variety of styles to discover our own unique style. All supplies provided.

Morning Zumba® 18 years-adult
$40/$65/$80*
2/22-3/29 W 8:45-9:45 am #7880
2/24-3/31 F 7:45-8:45 am #7885
2/27-4/3 M 8:45-9:45 am #7879
Start your day with an exciting and effective Latin dance Zumba® workout.
*Session discounts: one day for $40; two days for $65; all 3 days for $80. Certified Zumba® Instructor Dala Sondors.

Yoga to Unwind 16 years-adult
2/23-3/30 Th 5:10-6:10 pm $65 #7664
Leave the work day behind to relax with simple yoga poses, stretching and breathing. Bring towel, mat and dress comfortably. Instructor Aurora Heinemann.

Friday Fitness Party! 16 years-adult
2/24-3/31 F 6:15-7:15 pm $40 or $7/day #7682
Join us and dance, body condition and cool down to fabulous music. Bring mat and water. Walk in fee of $7 is due at start of class. Certified Zumba® Instructor Dala Sondors.

Friday Night Tap 12 years-adult
2/24-3/17 F 6:30-7:30 pm $40 #8016
Learn basic steps, combinations and routines to upbeat rhythms and music. Classes are progressive but designed for the beginner. Instructor Elli Busch. Classes held at Billy Clower Dance Studio, 75 MacMillian Ave. To register call 658-4726.

Ballroom Dancing 16 years-adult
2/28-4/4 Tu 7:30-8:30 pm $55 #8023
Enjoy the magic of smoothly moving across the floor with the waltz, fox trot, swing and rumba!

Swing and Nightclub Dancing 16 years-adult
2/28-4/4 Tu 8:30-9:30 pm $55 #8025
Swing the night away, East & West Coast style! No partner needed.