Standing debate dominates council
By Jesse Phelps

Once again, day laborers who congregate and wait for work in the Fitzgerald Plaza dominated discussion at the Ojai City Council meeting Tuesday.

Council members met early and talked for two hours about goal setting, then called the regular meeting to order just after 7:30 p.m. before the old debate began anew. The rhetoric flew as people with very different viewpoints expressed concerns about an issue that, in a farming town in the heart of citrus country, won't go away easily.

City Manager Dan Singer made the presentation on the agenda item to provide further direction to staff on what to do about the issue of workers who have selected Fitzgerald Plaza as a meeting ground and pickup spot for their rides to work each morning.

Rhonda Harris, property manager and daughter of the property's owners, spoke heatedly to the council, saying, "I just think it's time, you guys, to figure this out."

Harris reiterated that she and her parents have been working with the city to try to find an alternative for years with what she considers to be little result. Among the complaints lodged by Harris and other business owners in the plaza are the desecration of bathroom sand public areas surrounding the businesses, including the walls and flower planters in front.

Ojai Police Chief Gary Pentis, Singer and various members of the council discussed both the measures already taken and possibilities for further action. The crux of the problem is that, despite the complaints, very little illegal activity has been witnessed directly and no law exists that would allow police to forcibly remove the workers.

A public safety hazard, such as employers blocking traffic, rude and dangerous behavior to pedestrians or workers running across the road to catch rides, would be the legal reason to create a city ordinance limiting access but as of now, no such hazard has been shown to exist.
That hasn't stopped Pentis from attempting to deal with the problem in various ways. He says he's sent plainclothes female officers down to walk in front of the workers.

hey have been perfect gentlemen. He distributed bilingual flyers to try to increase awareness among the mostly Hispanic population but discovered that many are illiterate or uneducated, even in Spanish. He sent officers who asked the population to relocate and says many have, either to the park and ride across the way or to another prime pick-up zone in Meiners Oaks.

And still the problem persists. Data collected by Pentis' people shows that about 75 percent of the workers live locally. The time-honored line method of getting work with a contractor is not Ojai-specific - it's just the way this works virtually everywhere. As such, workers in the most visible, easy-to-reach spots get most of the jobs and nobody wants to move to a less visible area.

Nevertheless, that's one of the new proposals generated at the meeting. Many communities have set up drop points with easy access to restrooms and Ojai is looking at the possibility of a similar action. The Ojai Unified School District has indicated that doesn't want a permanent facility at the park and ride, but it is one location being considered.

Other locations potentially tabbed for a facility include the park and rise by the "Y" shopping center and the parking lot at the lower tennis courts of Libby Park.

Councilwoman Carol Smith sympathized with the Fitzgeralds, and said she'd spoken to several local contractors and asked them to attend the meeting. None showed. She thinks that the solution may be found through educating the "Johns," those who come and pick up the workers.

Councilwoman Rae Hanstad agreed that education is key. "I want to see increased outreach on all levels," she said. And she stressed the point that the workers should have a fair shot to earn a living, no matter how inconvenient it may seem to some. Directly addressing Harris, Hanstad stated, " With all due respect to how your parents have suffered, these people are looking for work."

Though no resolution was reached, council promised to have staff look more aggressively into the alternative drop points. Increased police activity is not, according to Pentis, cost effective or budget-wise. Calling upon the Immigration Naturalization Service is another option that, for various reasons, was nixed.

In the end, as DeVito said, "Council is not taking this issue lightly." Pentis and members of the council urged the Fitzgeralds to employ private security if the problem persists after an alternative is found.
In other matters before the council, a new city drug and alcohol policy for employees performing safety sensitive functions was accepted and a resolution authorizing the submittal for a grant application for new, safer crosswalks at three Ojai locations was unanimously approved.

The crosswalks would feature what public works director Doug Breeze called "flashing amber runway lights embedded in the concrete" at three crossings near local schools. The grant would provide $150,000 and the city would be required to pay another $15,000 for the flashy crosswalks for the kids.

Speaking of kids, the meeting kicked into gear with a service-learning presentation from three sixth graders. Angela Amico, Erin O'Loughlin and Haven Whipple of Ms. Giffin's Topa Topa Elementary School class presented findings from a survey they did as part of their service-learning program.

"Walking Wednesday" is the name given to the day each month when kids eschew motorized transport in favor of bicycles and foot travel. City staffperson and Topa Topa parent Heidi Whitman introduced the kids, who had detailed figures and a number of suggestions for council, including new sidewalks, creating signs and improving the visibility of existing sidewalks.

Council members were duly impressed with the work of the youngsters and Whitman said, "As you can see, the children really did their research. We were tickled pink in the public works department. It was better than some staff reports I've seen ... in other cities."

© 2003 The Ojai Valley News

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