NEW PARKS MANAGER'S GREEN PLAN IT'S ABOUT SPENDING WISELY.Byline: Rachel Uranga Staff Writer SIMI VALLEY Simi Valley (sē`mē, sĭm`ē), city (1990 pop. 100,217), Ventura co., SW Calif. in an oil, fruit, and farm region; laid out 1887, inc. 1969. - Larry Peterson wants to add green to the Rancho Simi Rancho San José de Nuestra Senora de Altagarcia y Simi is one of the land grants in California by the Spanish government. The name derives from Shimiji, the name of the Chumash village here before the Spanish. Recreation and Park District. Peterson, a former bankruptcy lawyer and the park district's new general manager, expects that cost-cutting measures he's put in place will save the district half a million per year in greenbacks. ``I want to better serve the public and do it in a cost-effective way, something you often don't see in government,'' said Peterson, 41. ``It's all going to be wait-and-see, but I think I can save $500,000 in a year.'' Since he took over the position four months ago, Peterson has been working to pay off district debts and cut costly extras, as well as implement an ambitious park-building plan he inherited. His cost-saving effort aims to counter a second year of state budget shortfalls that could siphon off Verb 1. siphon off - convey, draw off, or empty by or as if by a siphon siphon, syphon draw, take out - take liquid out of a container or well; "She drew water from the barrel" property taxes that fund nearly half the district's $12 million operating budget Noun 1. operating budget - a budget for current expenses as distinct from financial transactions or permanent improvements budget items, operating cost, operating expense, overhead - the expense of maintaining property (e.g. . To do so, Peterson has made some small changes, like replacing 10 district toilets with low-flush ones for a savings of $858 a year. He replaced a three-block-long Japanese privet Noun 1. Japanese privet - evergreen shrub of Japan and Korea having small dark leaves and flowers in loose panicles; related to but smaller than Chinese privet Ligustrum japonicum hedge at Citrus Grove Park with two crawling vines, creeping fig and Boston ivy Boston ivy or Japanese ivy, tall-climbing woody vine (Parthenocissus tricuspidata) from East Asia, one of the most popular of city wall coverings. . The step will save the district roughly $4,000 annually in labor costs for trimming the 6-foot-tall hedge. He simplified timecards, at an estimated savings of $12,000 a year. He left his former job as a fiscal administrator for the district opening and hopes to keep it unfilled for at least a year. That saves the district about $100,000. He convinced the district to purchase three after-school clubhouses for $60,000 instead of renting them for years at $21,000 annually. The list goes on. Until recently, most of Peterson's changes would have gone unnoticed by the public. Yet with the first park under his administration clearing a key hurdle this past week, Peterson's influence is likely to become more apparent. The 3.3-acre Vista Del Arroyo Park, alongside the Arroyo Simi SIMI Sea Ice Mechanics Initiative SIMI Search for Intelligent Monkeys on the Internet SIMI Students Islamic Movement in India SIMI Society of Irish Motor Industry SIMI Smallholder Irrigation Markets Initiative , is set to open next year. With the encouragement of Peterson, the district's planners have designed the city's first park to incorporate native plants like sage and lavender into the natural landscape. Paved pathways will lead up to a dry creek Dry Creek may refer to:
``This was just going to be a cookie-cutter park unless we tried to integrate into the arroyo,'' said Ed Hayduk, assistant general manager of the district. ``We are looking at things differently. A lot of things had been done because that's how they had been done in the past,'' Hayduk said. ``We are looking at everything with a fresh approach.'' That is being steered by Peterson, who is changing the district's culture while garnering accolades from the district's board, including chairman James Meredith Noun 1. James Meredith - United States civil rights leader whose college registration caused riots in traditionally segregated Mississippi (born in 1933) James Howard Meredith, Meredith . ``Perhaps we were too staid staid adj. 1. Characterized by sedate dignity and often a strait-laced sense of propriety; sober. See Synonyms at serious. 2. in our old way to do things. He is bringing in new energies,'' Meredith said. ``I think it's more open now. He's receptive to ideas.'' As part of Peterson's cost-consciousness, the district's board voted last week to pay off the $1.2 million loan for Simi Hills The Simi Hills are a low rocky mountain range in Southern California. Geography Simi Hills is located on the western edge of the San Fernando Valley, United States. They run east-west and they extend 26 miles east-west, and 7 miles north-south. Golf Course early. The debt was to be paid by 2012. The early settlement will save the district nearly $400,000 in interest payments, Peterson said. Few have complained about the changes, but Peterson suspects the push to streamline employee duties is bound to create quiet detractors. ``Resistance is always an obstacle,'' he said. But, he added, he intends to keep the current work force even though some duties may be shifted. For instance, he is seeking to curtail cur·tail tr.v. cur·tailed, cur·tail·ing, cur·tails To cut short or reduce. See Synonyms at shorten. [Middle English curtailen, to restrict hours spent signing up patrons for recreational classes with an online registration system. In doing so, he hopes to expand the district's services. As for the money saved, Peterson said that with a state budget deficit that could hit $29 billion next year, he is remaining cautious. ``I have no plans for it except to make sure the district remains financially sound so it can continue to meet the needs of the residents with more money.'' Rachel Uranga, (805) 583-7602 rachel.uranga(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Larry Peterson, general manager of the Rancho Simi Recreation and Park District, left, and landscape designer Douglas Duran show plans for Vista Del Arroyo Park near Sequoia Avenue in Simi Valley. Andy Holzman/Staff Photographer |
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