By TR Robertson
The June meeting of the Vista Chamber of Commerce Government Affairs Committee heard presentations by Darren Gretler, Chief of Staff for Supervisor Jim Desmond’s Office and from several representatives of Caltrans. Darren took a series of questions from Committee members after hearing a list of the many issues the Supervisors are dealing with. He introduced himself saying he has worked for 26 years in a variety of county offices. It was pointed out that there are currently 4 Supervisors and District 1 is going through an election process to choose a new Supervisor. One of the issues they are presently dealing with is the allocation of a $8.6 billion dollar budget. The public is encouraged to give input to the Supervisors. The process to establish the budget includes taking input, reviewing all input received and adopting a budget later this year. One concern is how to deal with establishing a budget in light of the $138 million-dollar short fall in the budget from what various agencies are requesting. One thing they are looking at is the 20,000 staff they work with, adding over 2,500 in the last several years. When asked about the continuance of the grants offered by the county, Darren said grants like the Community Enhancement and Neighborhood Reinvestment grants are year to year. When asked about the continued sewage crisis in San Diego County, especially at the Mexico/U.S. border, Darren said this is high on their list of priorities. He said the main two problems is Mexico has not built a sewage treatment plant for the effected area and the sewage treatment plant on the U.S. side is too small to treat the inordinate amount of sewage coming in from Mexico. He did say $600 million had been allocated for the U.S. facility repair and expansion, but this still doesn’t solve the problem. The Supervisors have begun discussing options like pushing the U.S. to impose a variety of policies that might push Mexico to pick up the speed in addressing the crisis. When asked about the situation with the deterorating North County Jail, Darren said the cost to build a new facility would run around $400 million dollars. He did say the situation with the jail and its age is on their radar.
The next speakers were from Caltrans who discussed the SR-78 Management Project. It was said this project will enhance a 17.7 mile stretch of State Route 78 from Interstate 5 in Oceanside to Broadway and Lincoln Parkway in Escondido. The project will rehabilitate along the main roadway, shoulders and freeway ramps to extend the life of the existing highway. This is estimated to coast $126 million and is solely funded by the State Highway Operation Protection Program. We were told there would be nighttime closures of some lanes and ramps. Another project is the I-15-SR-78 Managed Lames Direct Connectors Project. This project is a collaborative effort between Caltrans, SANDAG, and the City of San Marcos to build new direct connector ramps between the existing I-15 Managed Lanes and three miles of newly proposed Managed Lanes on SR-78. Public Hearings are being held about this proposed project. The representatives were also asked about safety issues at the Mar Vista Bridge on both the north and south sides of the bridge overpass and ramps.
Governmental Updates
From Senator Catherine Blakespear’s Office – Senate and Assembly bills must be passed on from each legislative body that initiated the bill. Some of the ones under consideration include SB 569 – the Caltrans corridor encampment issues around the ramps and other areas; SB 427 – dealing with habitat conservation fund protection; SB 710 – solar panel tax code protection; SB 84 – a remedy for ADA issues.
From Congressman Mike Levin’s Office – the Congressman supports legislation to eliminate offshore drilling. He supports the Child Hunger Act and allocation of money to prevent future smuggling operations. The Congressman also supports extending from 12 to 24 miles the Custom Waters Act.
From Assembly Member Laurie Davies Office – The Assembly Member is supporting a bill to require lights on E-bikes and designating the top speed an E-bike can reach if it is called an E-bike. She is also supporting the continuance of school vouchers for lunches. Portions of Highway 76 will be renamed the Payomkawish Highway honoring the contributions of the Luiseno people to this area.
From County Supervisor Jim Desmond’s Office – the Supervisor is not supporting a variety to proposed tax hikes, like the increase in the water tax.
From the City of Vista – Dr. Bronner’s is designated as a Green Business. A Wave Water Park workshop is being held to determine the course of action to be taken for the water park. A number of public hearings will be held at the June 10 City Council meeting, like rental assistance. On June 14 there will be paper shredding offered at the Civic Center. The June 17 City Council meeting will hear from the Planning Commission concerning several new development proposals. At the June 24 city council meeting Fire and Sheriff Heroes will be honored and the Council will hear about the Homeless Ordinance and about the various sidewalks being added to the city.
From The Vista Chamber of Commerce – Rachel Beld spoke about the success of the Strawberry Festival. The Velocity Internship Program is starting for the summer. The chamber is working with Vista Unified School District in developing an internship program for individuals 18 years of age and older.
From Vista Irrigation District – Studies are underway about the proposed water rate increase. The timeline includes recommendations and public comment from August to November and an anticipated final decision in November. A $73 million budget was passed.
The next Government Affairs meeting will be held at the Film Hub at noon on August 7.
