U.S. Approves Quake Repair Funds for New Simi Police Station

SIMI VALLEY — Ending months of waiting, haggling and worrying, the federal government Wednesday gave the city $3.8 million in earthquake repair money earmarked for the ongoing construction of a new police station.

The late-afternoon funding announcement by Federal Emergency Management Agency Director James Lee Witt thrilled city leaders and Rep. Elton Gallegly (R-Simi Valley), who had lobbied for the funds for the better part of a year.

“This is the culmination of a long haul,” Gallegly said. “To say that I’m elated would be an understatement. . . . This [money] will go a long way toward building that facility.”

The federal money will be used for retiring bonds the city issued earlier this year to build a new, $12.7-million police station at Tapo Canyon Road and Alamo Street. The current station--built in 1971--is cramped, cluttered and cracked.

The building was so damaged in the Northridge quake that some walls split and the holding cells sank 6 inches into the ground.

But when it came time for FEMA to assess the building’s structural damage, agency officials saw only about $260,000 in damage caused by the earthquake. In contrast, Simi Valley city staff members estimated fixing the damage would cost $1 million and that bringing the old, 25,000-square-foot building up to current earthquake code would cost another $2.72 million.

A lengthy and complex appeals process ensued. On Wednesday, FEMA came around to the city’s point of view.

“The Simi Valley police station is an essential facility, providing a unique combination of public safety services, the loss of which could seriously affect the safety of the community,” Witt wrote in his approval letter.

Although Witt said he still did not agree with all the documentation city staff members compiled, he exercised his “discretionary authority for hazard mitigation measures” and granted the money for the new station, slated to open in July or August. It will be more than twice the size of the current facility.

“We’re relieved it’s all over,” Mayor Greg Stratton said. “We knew all along that we were going to get some money, but we didn’t know when, or how, or how much pain we were going to have to go through to get it.”

Simi Valley Police Lt. Neal Rein, who is overseeing construction of the new station, was similarly pleased.

“Although the construction would have continued anyway, this money means we’ll be able to retire bonds that much sooner,” Rein said. “That’s $3.8 million that the local taxpayers aren’t going to have to pay.”

To finance construction of the station and other earthquake repairs, the city in 1995 issued $16.6 million in bonds, repayable over 20 years. About $10 million of the bond money is tagged for police station construction. City Community Development Agency funds and the FEMA money will cover the remainder of construction costs, Deputy City Manager Bob Heitzman said.

City Manager Mike Sedell, who worked closely with Gallegly to secure the funds, said much of the credit belongs to the congressman.

“We owe a great debt of thanks to Elton Gallegly for making sure the [FEMA] director himself heard our appeal and for making sure the director himself recognized the validity of our claims,” he said.