County Awarded $5 Million for Quake Repairs : Reconstruction: Fillmore, Piru and Simi Valley will benefit from the federal funds, which require a 10% matching expenditure.

Ventura County has been awarded a $5-million federal earthquake relief grant to help pay for major reconstruction projects in hard-hit areas of Fillmore, Piru and Simi Valley, officials said Wednesday.

The grant from the U. S. Department of Commerce, part of a $69-million recovery package for victims of the Northridge earthquake, will help cover the cost of repairing streets, reservoirs and other infrastructure in the county.

The money will also benefit the county’s economy by restoring jobs and boosting sales and property taxes lost because of the earthquake, said Mary Ann Krause, county administrative analyst.

“It’s a great shot in the arm for the county in terms of economic development opportunity,” Krause said. “The leveraging that can occur as a result of this grant is very significant.”

Krause said federal grants require a 10% matching expenditure from the cities of Simi Valley and Fillmore and the county in the case of unincorporated Piru. But Krause said all three areas could use federal Community Block Grants to offset their costs.

The county and two cities have already drawn up priority lists for projects that are competing for a share of the $5 million.

Simi Valley will request $3.5 million to help pay for $7.1-million worth of projects, including construction of a new Tapo Canyon Road bridge near the Brandeis-Bardin Institute, Assistant City Manager Dan Penman said.

Other Simi Valley projects include improving roads cracked by the temblor, reinforcing water storage tanks, installing a backup power generator for the city’s waste-water treatment plant and a new sewage disinfection system, he said.

“Obviously, we’re quite pleased,” Penman said of the $5-million award. “It’s not enough money to fund all of our projects. But it will be a big boost.”

Fillmore plans to request about $3 million to repair two city reservoirs, purchase two backup generators for the city’s water-pumping facilities and pay for various road improvements, City Manager Roy Payne said.

“Our local resources are stretched to the max,” Payne said. “We don’t have the money to respond to all the earthquake damage that we’ve had.”

Krause said the county will request $238,000 to repair a private water system serving Piru.

She said the county and the cities will file applications that will be given final approval by the Commerce Department’s Economic Development Assn. Krause said it could take as long as six months before the local governments receive the money.