The seven men and women who comprise the Casa Conejo Municipal Advisory Council (MAC) met for the first time when they were sworn in on Wed., Sept. 16 at Walnut Elementary School.

The council represents an unincorporated section of Newbury Park outside Thousand Oaks’ jurisdiction that’s seeking more attention from Ventura County.

About 3,000 residents and 1,000 homes make up Casa Conejo, the area south of Old Conejo Road, north of Borchard Road, and between Jenny Drive to the west and Debbie Street and Virginia Drive to the east.

Ventura County Supervisor Linda Parks’ district held a town hall meeting on May 27 to plan for the organization of the MAC. Nearly 100 people joined her at that time. About 60 attended last week’s council meeting, where Jennifer Clark, Clara Deemer, Megan Sandoval, Bobbi RossNeier, Edward Villa Jr. and Dustin Woomer became the council’s first leaders.

Residents could speak at the advisory council meeting, and they expressed concerns over issues including graffiti removal, traffic enforcement, blighted homes and the lack of law enforcement presence. All ages were represented, from retirees to schoolchildren.

Former police officer Tony Pavia, a Newbury Park resident, complained that speeders dropping off students at a local middle school were endangering the lives of other children who were walking and riding bikes. He asked that police monitor the streets near the school. He’d made Parks aware of this problem previously, he said.

The area is patrolled by the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department and the CHP.

Catharine Hogue of Newbury Park expressed her concerns about a house next door to hers that’s been vacant for a year.

“The grass is high and brown. There are little palm trees springing up everywhere. We’re concerned about the fire hazard and the rats,” she said.

Inside the house, which was foreclosed on and is now owned by a bank, the toilets have been broken off and big holes ripped into walls in nearly every room, she said.

“I really didn’t know where to call, so I called Linda Parks,” Hogue said.

Still waiting for some help from the county, Hogue said she and her husband, Roy, came to the MAC in hopes of getting some assistance in cleaning up the eyesore and making their neighborhood safer.

Before the meeting Parks explained that the area had no homeowners association or organized body to voice the residents’ concerns. Even though it’s surrounded by the city of Thousand Oaks, the area has no representation in city hall, and the residents cannot vote in Thousand Oaks City Council elections.

If the area were a part of Thousand Oaks, residents wouldn’t pay any more taxes but the city would get a bigger slice of the taxes they’re already paying that now go to Ventura County, said community development director John Prescott.

Being a part of Thouand Oaks would give area residents access to the code compliance department, public works, graffiti removal and the Thousand Oaks Police Department to assist them with these problems.

“The city contracts with Ventura County Sheriff’s Department for a higher level of patrol services,” Prescott said.

That doesn’t really matter if it’s a 911 call since the Thousand Oaks Police Department will respond in an emergency, he said.

The city’s wastewater collection costs more for residents who live outside the city, Prescott said.

Whether or not, as an unincorporated entity, they’ll continue to have free access to the Thousand Oaks public library system is still being decided in meetings between county and city officials.

Residents of Casa Conejo haven’t become a part of Thousand Oaks because they want to “maintain their independence and avoid city controls” such as “where to park recreation vehicles,” said advisory council member Clara Deemer after the meeting. She’s lived in the area since 1961.

By forming the MAC, residents expressed hope that they would have some say in Thousand Oaks development projects that would affect them. The advisory council is another way to communicate with the county but has no formal link to the surrounding city.

“I don’t know how (the MAC) will really change things that much or make any difference. They have always been allowed to come to public meetings and give their opinions,” Prescott said.

“The new Casa Conejo Municipal Advisory Council should provide residents in this unincorporated area with additional access to their county government,” said city spokesperson Andrew Powers.

“This is a bottoms-up approach that will have real benefits for the community,” Parks said.

The advisory council is the fifth such group in Ventura County and, along with Oak Park and Santa Rosa Valley advisory councils, the third in Parks’ district.

The councils don’t cost the county, Parks said, but are sponsored by her office. She shares her staff’s time and her district website with the advisory councils. The Casa Conejo MAC will meet again in November.

El Rio and Ojai Valley in other unincorporated areas of Ventura County also have MACs.

When Oak Park’s advisory council members were elected last year, the county billed the council $6,218 for the costs, said Tracy Saucedo, assistant registrar of voters.