Oceanside City Council Considers Fireworks for Next Year's Independence Day

Oceanside City Council members were so pleased with this year's Independence Day fireworks that a similar pyrotechnics display seems assured for 2014 and beyond. 

And it most-probably will be held in the same place: El Corazon Park in the center of the city rather than on the beach, its traditional location prior to its being stopped altogether three years ago.

City officials said it would cost $250,000 at the beach but under $40,000 at the park.

The difference was that police did not have the crowd-control hassles they usually have at the beach.  The park attracted a family audience.

 What hasn't been decided is whether the event will be held on July 3 or 4.

This year's spectacle was held July 3 in conjunction with the city's 125th anniversary, but next year could go either way.

At Wednesday night's council meeting, Councilman Jerry Kern said he prefers July 3, but he's found that sentiment in town runs about 60-40 in favor of the Fourth because it really is “the nation's birthday.”

Councilman Gary Felien proclaimed this year's program “a rousing success,” saying “I have not heard one complaint about it.  Felien said he leans toward the Fourth.

Either way, there probably are overtime costs for police, and Mayor Jim Wood, a retired police officer, said he hates to see law-enforcement personnel have to work long shifts on back-to-back days.

City staff was asked to come back in 30 days with a report on how to handle the fireworks next year. 

The most discussion at the meeting involved what to do with $2 million left over from the sale of the city-owned leasehold on the Laguna Vista mobile-home park. Sales price was $5.6 million, but the council already has earmarked use of $3.6-million. 

Councilwoman Esther Sanchez, absent the day of that vote, was unhappy that her colleagues had allocated $3 million for renovation of restrooms at the beach.

Sanchez said the city has many needs and should have considered them all before voting.

And, she said, the council should leverage its money by attracting matching grants. For instance, she said, the state Coastal Conservancy might have helped with the bathrooms.

Mayor Jim Wood argued for some time on behalf of making quiet zones along the railroad tracks a priority before all of the money is spent, but, in the end, he went along with a 4-1 vote to provide $650,000 to the Mission Cove Affordable Housing Project and keep the rest in an unallocated reserve.

Kern, an opponent of any more public money for Mission Cove, cast the dissenting vote. 

Wood said he and Sanchez originally would have been happy to put the entire proceeds from the sale of the Laguna Vista leasehold into housing projects because they believed that's where it belongs.

But, he said, there was no will to do so on the part of the rest of the council.

John Seymour and Mary Jane Zagodzinski, representing the developers of the 288-unit Mission Cove project on land purchased by the city along Mission Avenue at Caroline Circle, said they needed the funds to “close the gap” in securing private banking money.

Quiet zones are those in which train engineers may refrain from using horns because the intersections have been improved significantly to make them safer.

Five Oceanside intersections are being considered for quiet zones. 

“We're a tourist town,” Wood said, “There's no doubt about it,” and he believes the quiet zones are necessary because he gets complaints “all the time” from visitors in downtown hotels near the railroad tracks.

“The Wyndham (resort) is especially cursed,” said Howard La Grange, a member of the Visit Oceanside board. “The manager says it's the No. 1 complaint.”

Wood said the quiet-zone proposal has been studied since 2007, and he wants action.

But City Engineer Scott Smith said certain additional “diagnostic” studies are required before any next steps can be taken, and five entities are involved.

Steve Maschuel, president of the homeowners' association at the North Coast Village condominium complex,  said he believes residents and businesses now would be willing to share in the costs.

At first, Maschuel said, people balked at contributing because the price was estimated at $9 million, but now that $3 million is being mentioned, they might be willing to help. 

Also at the meeting, the council:

--Approved a plan to add a passenger-loading zone and restripe Via Rancho Drive to provide more space for pickup and dropoff of students at El Camino High School.  Sanchez and Wood opposed because the bicycle lane is being eliminated. La Grange, of the city's Bicycle and Pedestrian Committee, said the action sends the wrong message to the community when efforts are being made to promote cycling.

--Approved a renegotiated lease agreement with REACH Air Medical Services of Santa Rosa to operate an emergency medical helicopter out of city fire department quarters at 110 Jones Road. Revenue of $1 million is expected over a five-year period. “We have solved the issues with this,” Feller said.

--Approved an agreement with Vista Unified School District to provide, at the district's expense of about $130,000 a year,  a school-resource (police) officer to Vista schools, specifically Mission Vista High and Madison and Roosevelt middle schools in the city of Oceanside. “Security at high schools has become quite critical,” Kern said.

--Learned of plans for a dedication ceremony Sept. 26 , in conjunction with Oceanside High School, for renaming the Mission Avenue bridge over the Interstate 5 freeway for the late civil rights leader, the Rev. Martin Luther King.

-- Heard a short presentation by George Sadler and attorney Lance Rogers of plans to locate a medical-marijuana dispensary in the city.  Stabler said there are 13,000 registered medical-marijuana patients in Oceanside, like those suffering from cancer or multiple sclerosis, who need a local place to obtain their cannabis.