2 CITIES JOIN HANDS TO CREATE COMMON COMMUNITY CENTER.

Byline: Krystn Shrieve Staff Writer

Agoura Hills and Calabasas officials are marveling at the $5.6 million cooperative creation that, after more than a decade, is finally taking shape at their border.

The Agoura Hills-Calabasas Community Center is scheduled to open in mid-November, offering 30,000 square feet of fun and fitness for residents from Malibu to Thousand Oaks.

``The two cities came together years ago, but neither felt we had enough funds or property to build something like this on our own, so we put our heads together and did it as a joint effort,'' said Calabasas Community Development Director Greg Johnson. ``The people in all the surrounding communities are going to benefit. From Thousand Oaks, you can get there in 12 minutes.''

The regional community center will include a gymnasium complete with locker rooms for basketball, volleyball and indoor soccer. It will also have a dance room for aerobics and ballet, a rock-climbing wall, a fitness room with free weights and other fitness machines, three meeting rooms, a large kitchen and an activity room for such after-school programs as computer classes.

``This is the first time two cities in California have worked together to form a regional public facility,'' Agoura Hills Mayor Dan Kuperberg said. ``It's a partnership in the best sense of the word. It's a great concept and will be an even greater facility.''

The facility will be open to area residents, but officials expect the bulk of the users to come from the Calabasas Grade to Thousand Oaks. There will be monthly membership fees for the fitness room with special rates for families and senior citizens.

There also will be single-use fees for the climbing wall and drop-in rates for use of the gymnasium. Fees to rent the community rooms or kitchen will be charged.

However, fees for residents from Agoura Hills and Calabasas will be the same as those for residents coming from as far away as Thousand Oaks, said Agoura Hills Councilman Ed Corridori, chairman of the Joint Powers Authority that runs the center.

At this point construction workers are still toiling away, but the end is finally in sight.

The curved ceilings are covered in redwood. Most of the windows and doors are installed. But the gymnasium is still waiting for its wooden floor, the slate tiles have not yet been laid and the skylight that spans the lobby is still just a hole looking out into fresh air.

``This is something that has been talked about for the last 15 years,'' said Audrey Brown, director of community services in Agoura Hills. ``Recreation doesn't see any city or county boundaries, the more people we can get involved the more special it will be. It will be a dream come true for all of us.''

The community center is on four acres at 27040 Malibu Hills Road, adjacent to the Lost Hills sheriff's station. The land was donated by Los Angeles County - saving the cities an estimated $1.6 million.

The community center was funded mostly with $4 million from Proposition A, the Neighborhood Parks Act passed in 1998. The cities also received $1 million from the state, but members of the community have also pitched in.

Last week, the Community Center Alliance donated $50,000 as the first installment for furnishings. The Las Virgenes Water District donated $20,000 for landscaping. The Lost Hills sheriff's station put more than $35,000 toward the fitness room and has pledged to donate proceeds from at least three more golf tournaments.

John Hood, a member of the Community Center Alliance, said he wasn't surprised by the community's generosity.

``I've always had excellent support and cooperation from the community whether it's for baseball fields or schools or the community center,'' said Hood who has lived in Agoura Hills since 1975. ``The people here like where they live and want to make it the best it can be. It's a way of showing pride in their community.''