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Conejo Recreation and Park District Damages Response and Recovery Efforts <br />Immediately after the event, staff inspected facilities (including reaching out to partner groups) <br />and compiled a preliminary assessment of assets that were damaged as a result of the fires and <br />estimated costs of recovery. The preliminary estimate for rehabilitation of District and COSCA <br />facilities totaled more than $1.6M. <br />Initially, the preliminary information was shared with the Ventura County Sheriff Office of <br />Emergency Services as they coordinated efforts with the State of California, Federal Emergency <br />Management Agency (FEMA) and the President for issuing a Major Disaster Declaration and <br />enacting all categories of the FEMA Public Assistance Grant Program. District staff has been <br />coordinating with FEMA officials regarding potential recovery funding assistance and initial <br />guidance, including a site visit by FEMA officials to select District locations on November 17, 2018. <br />Even as some District staff continued to support the evacuation shelters, others began focusing <br />on recovery efforts. Shortly after the incident, the District contacted local vendors to provide <br />services for the post -fire rehabilitation of facilities and parks. On November 14, 2018, the District <br />Board of Directors passed Resolution No. 111418-A declaring and joining with the City of <br />Thousand Oaks' proclamation of the existence of a local emergency and rendering certain <br />emergency orders. The District entered into several contracts to provide larger rehabilitation <br />efforts, most notably the rehabilitation of North Ranch Neighborhood Park with RRM Design <br />(Landscape Architectural services wildfire/urban interface), FS Contractors (landscape <br />construction) and Oakbrook Regional Park with Mortimer Tree Services (Oak tree evaluation, <br />repair, and removals). <br />Recovery efforts to date are summarized in EXHIBIT 3. The District has expended just over <br />$340,000 and projects to expend an additional $450,000. Additionally, the Conejo Open Space <br />Conservation Agency has expended $33,500 and projects to expend an additional $830,000. <br />In order to better understand wildland fires and fuel management, the District contracted with Geo <br />Elements, LLC. The District will use the guidance provided by Geo Elements to provide improved <br />community wildfire protection and planning, as well as guidance from Ventura County Fire Codes, <br />while providing parks and facilities in which patrons can enjoy, staff can maintain, and the District <br />can conserve water. <br />North Ranch Neighborhood Park <br />After the incidents, as with other park sites, staff's goal was to renabiiitate Norm Ranch <br />Neighborhood Park to its pre -fire status. However, while repairs were underway, District staff <br />received a variety of concerns from neighbors, most notably regarding the re -installation of <br />landscaping mulch. Staff has communicated frequently with the neighbors regarding their <br />concerns, proper fire clean-up measures, air quality, and the status of rehabilitation work at the <br />park through on-site meetings, telephone discussions, and email correspondence. To address <br />these public concerns, staff has consulted local, and state fire code and guidelines, fire experts <br />