The Los Angeles Times from Los Angeles, California • Page 666

LOS ANGELES TIMES THURSDAY, MARCH 12, 1992 B5 VALLEY NEWS L. A. OKs $1 .9 Million to Buy Sylmar Site for Train Depot 0 i iol IP" -4ta FUNDS: Plan Would Help Valley College Continued from B3 an immediate infusion of $750,000 and an additional $1 million to the school's proposed budget for 1992-93 to remedy some of the problems. Lee said the additional funds that Valley College requested would be used for urgent maintenance and to prepare drawings for an air-conditioning system. Immediate needs include rebuilding the chemistry storeroom, replacing the cracked gym floor, updating computer and lab equipment, painting classrooms and repairing leaky roofs, administrators said.

In the future, Lee said, the college needs to modernize the life sciences building, replace temporary bungalows with permanent classrooms and construct several new buildings. A contingent of about 100 from the Van Nuys campus restated the college's funding requests Tuesday. Under Yoneji's plan, each college would contribute to a funding pool that would be redistributed to colleges based largely on enrollment. He presented variations of the proposal with redistribution pools of from $1 million to $10 million. Chancellor Donald Phelps and at least three trustees said they favor a pool of between $4 million and $5 million, which would give Valley an extra $1.3 million to $1.4 million would help crowded classes, such as RICARDO DcARATANHA Los Angeles Times this one that has 128 students.

The station, between Hubbard and Sayre streets next to the Southern Pacific tracks, would be the only depot in the city of Los Angeles along the Santa Clarita Metrolink line. The only other San Fernando Valley station will be in Burbank. The entire 26 acres, all owned by the Friedmans, is now used for vegetable and flower farming. The Friedmans, however, are in escrow to sell the site to Watt-Pacific Inc. Watt, one of Southern California's largest developers, has "obtained city approvals, including a special variance, for its plans to build 280 condominiums on 20 acres at the site.

Watt officials say they are not opposed to the train station. City housing officials have been anxious to see the condominium project proceed because it will be targeted at first-time, moderate-income home buyers. The city has agreed to provide Watt-Pacific with access to $11.8 million in low-interest loans that it can offer to qualified buyers. Development of the station and the condominium project has concerned some Sylmar residents. Timoteo Lopez, a longtime Sylmar resident who led a petition drive to oppose the housing project, recently complained that the rail station and condominiums would congest local streets and add to the overcrowding of Sylmar-area schools.

By JOHN SCHWADA TIMES STAFF WRITER Lawmakers on Wednesday voted to spend $1.9 million to buy a six-acre parcel in Sylmar for development of a train station for the downtown Los Angeles-to-Santa Clarita Metrolink rail line. The Metrolink line is scheduled to open in October, and city officials are racing to acquire the Sylmar property and build a covered platform and adjacent 500-space parking lot for commuters to meet that deadline. Despite the vote by the Los Angeles City Council, no final agreement has been reached on the sale price of the key parcel. "We haven't got the owners to buy off on this price yet," said James Okazaki, a senior official in the city's Department of Transportation. The city initially offered the owners, Friedman Brothers Investment $1.7 million.

The Friedman Brothers countered with $2.7 million and now the city has raised its initial offer by $200,000. Okazaki said he was hopeful that Wednesday's council action will signal to the owners that "we are willing to cooperate, but we're not ready to pay an arm and a leg for this." Albert Friedman, one of the owners, refused to comment on the city's latest offer, saying he had not yet received it. A PLAZA More funding at Valley College a year. "I was encouraged by the remarks of the chancellor and the board members," Lee said. "I believe that they are recognizing that Valley College is and has been seriously underfunded and that the equity we are asking for is not unreasonable." Even with the biggest pool, Yoneji said, Valley is the one college that comes out of the process with more money, which worries other colleges.

All other schools would not get back as much as they contributed. For example, Lowell Erickson, president of Pierce College in Woodland Hills, said he fears Pierce's funding could be reduced P-Al New for petites: the distinctive fashions of Allard for Ellen Tracy-just the thing your blossoming career. said, and that was not factored into the figures presented. "The numbers will change as we go through the budget process," he said. "We want to be careful not to disrupt" operations at the college.

Yoneji said the proposed formula will give the colleges more certainty in planning programs because they will know almost exactly how much money they will receive in any given year. "I think it is a good vehicle because it increases the level of local decision-making," Trustee Lindsay Conner said of the plan. Trustee David Lopez-Lee said he believes the formula will benefit all nine colleges. "We probably can make all of them whole again." A welcome the American Expreu Cart. Linda for This Bold.

discover Ellen Here, Sleeveless Slim under the plan. "The formula's fine as long as we start at the level of what we're getting now," he said. "You really need to start all the colleges out at the Bame level they are now, and then allocate any extra money." Pierce, he said, stands to lose $450,000 under the $5 million redistribution pool as presented by Yoneji. "That would be about 10 to 15 of our classes," he said. But Yoneji said he used a worst-case scenario when devising the formula and will consult with all nine college presidents before he makes a final proposal next week.

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