Oceanside Red-Light Cameras to Stay

Red-light cameras probably will stay on four Oceanside intersections for two years.

The city is losing money on the devices, but it would cost $48,000—and possibly some legal hassles—to terminate the contract with their manufacturer early, according to city staff.

And police say the cameras have cut down on traffic collisions.

Red-light cameras take pictures of motorists running stop lights, and the fines usually are quite hefty.

The four intersections are Canyon Drive at Mission Avenue, Oceanside Boulevard at College Boulevard, College at Old Grove Road and El Camino Real at Vista Way.

In a three-hour discussion of possible additions to the upcoming General Fund budget and to the capital-improvement program Wednesday, the City Council took no votes but, in general, told the city manager what it did and did not want.

City Manager Peter Weiss had given the council proposals for spending an estimated $1.3 million in additional revenue.

 The council already had expressed an interest in putting $500,000 of that money into a a revolving loan fund to help businesses. That proposal will be discussed more fully at the next council meeting on Feb. 27.

Weiss warned the council that it should consider one-time-only expenditures, not ones that would require financing year after year although it could, for instance, do something like increase library hours because it could simply reduce them again, if necessary. No additional staff was proposed.

The council tended to like adding 14 hours of operation at the two libraries and adding one bookmobile stop for a cost of $95,000.

And it favored completing replacement of the pier decking at a cost of $90,500.

Enhancing code enforcement by adding two part-time officers to augment existing efforts, at a cost of $40,000, got a thumbs-up.

Councilman Jerry Kern said code enforcement involves “what the city looks like” and helps “to make sure we have a safe, clean city.”

There was less consideration, but some support, for spending $22,000 on a study of adding additional developer fees to help fund El Corazon park in the center of the city.

A lot of discussion about restoring a traffic-calming program (things like speed bumps, for instance) resulted in some interest, but perhaps also in having neighborhoods who request the program to help pay for it. The council was given a list of 102 requests for traffic-calming help, mostly to slow speeders.

There was some support, especially from council members Jerry Kern and Gary Felien, to conduct a citizen survey asking residents what they want city government to do.

But there was virtually no interest to fund a part-time public-information officer at a cost of $35,000.

Nor was there any desire to eliminate the red-light-camera program.

The council unanimously expressed the opinion that it should die a natural death when the five-year contract with the vendor expires in 2015.

Not specifically on the agenda was a much-favored item to provide wi-fi Internet service at Joe Balderrama and Melba Bishop community centers, El Corazon Senior Center and either the Americanization School or former Camp Fire site in Crown Heights, a neighborhood experiencing violence and gang activity of late.

A lot of homework must be done on the Internet these days, proponents said, and children in low-income areas often don't have Internet connections at home.

Calling himself a “computer dinosaur,” Mayor Jim Wood indicated he doesn't understand what Wi-Fi is, but he's in favor of programs to help the kids.

The cost is $5,000 to $7,000 for each installation and $600 annually, cheaper if it can be attached to a library program.

From the audience, Jimmy Knott suggested security cameras in Crown Heights, a neighborhood adjacent to Oceanside High School west of Interstate 5 freeway and north of Missouri Street.

 “Crown Heights looks like a war zone,” Joan Brown said from the audience. “There have been no capital improvements since the 15 years I have lived here.”

One item not on the list that drew council interest was the possibility of a Fourth of July fireworks display. Oceanside traditionally shot fireworks from a barge at sea near the pier but the custom was canceled a couple of years ago due to cost and the amount of law-enforcement needed.

Current talk involves perhaps having a display at El Corazon, a largely vacant 465-acre parcel in the heart of the city at Oceanside Boulevard and Rancho del Oro Drive.

Feller set the potential cost at $40,000.

But he and Kern said it would be a fitting way to celebrate the city's 125thbirthday this year.

Also gaining some favor was a proposal by Liz Rhea of the Harbor and Beaches Advisory Committee for the purchase of ladders - perhaps six to start with - that can be used by people who fall into the water at the harbor . A video showed to the council demonstrated it can be very hard to climb up onto the dock from the water.

Weiss had recommended that the council accept a draft General Fund budget of about $118 million and let him know what it thought of the possible additions. Mayor Jim Wood said he thought Weiss had “clear direction and we do not need to vote.”

 “I cannot help thinking things are moving in a positive direction,” Wood said.

Much the same no-vote format was used with the proposed capital-improvement project list.

The council said, however, that it wants to start a study on implementing the Coast Highway corridor vision plan, narrowing the traveled way, in South Oceanside, coming north from the Carlsbad city limits.

 “Lots of people are really excited about doing something” to improve South Oceanside, Councilwoman Esther Sanchez said. She envisioned one lane of traffic in each direction with widened sidewalks and outdoor cafes, “making it a destination place.”

Weiss said trial restriping could be done without a full environmental-impact report.

 “What about the mess?” further north on the highway, Feller worried, but the council stuck to the decision to begin in the south.

The council – and the public – wanted new restrooms at the beach, saying they are essential to tourism, but Weiss said funds for those improvements dried up when the state eliminated redevelopment agencies.

Costs for two pages of proposed projects was not totaled although they would seem to amount to about $25 million.

But just under $7.5 million worth of the proposed expenditures is expected to be covered by Transnet funds overseen by the San Diego Association of Governments and not by city money.

City Engineer Scott Smith said after the meeting that the capital-improvements budget is not ready and that it will include ongoing projects that were not before the council Wednesday. Many of the proposals that were on the council agenda were new, he said. Last year's capital-improvements budget totaled $36 million, Scott said.

Although again no votes were taken, Wood and Sanchez reiterated their long-held opposition to a proposed expenditure of $2 million for studies to extend Melrose Avenue so that it provides a thoroughfare between state Routes 76 and 78. They said the road never will be built, and the money best could be spent on other needs in the city.

Other proposed expenditures included almost $2 million for sewer improvements, and Wood said they are important because the city be subjected to huge fines if sewage leaks.

The final budget will be adopted in June.

Patch Newsletter & Alerts | Facebook | Twitter