Meeting Notes by Lola Sherman
The collaboration was announced at MainStreet’s Monthly Morning Meeting on Tuesday in a presentation by Margi Malek, Kindness Certified Company program director at Kids for Peace.
Established by a local mom, Jill McManigal, and a Carlsbad High School student, more than a dozen years ago after a (non-fatal) shooting at Kelly Elementary School in Carlsbad, the non-profit organization is now world-wide with 19 million youth involved in 116 countries, Malek said.
They pledge acts of kindness and hope “to create a worldwide community of kind, compassionate youth,” she said.
Malek said when the venture began, it involved a promise of 50 acts of kindness in five days at three schools – Kelly, Jefferson and Hope elementaries in Carlsbad.
Now, she said support comes from entire school districts like Oceanside Unified as well as the county and state offices of education.
Malek tailored her talk to the business community, offering membership for $150 a year, the price usually reserved for Chamber of Commerce members. Businesses get a seal indicating they are a Kindness Certified Company.
Otherwise, the price is $200 annually.
With the donation, Malek said, “you will be helping us to keep all our programs free” to youth worldwide.
Kindness, she said, should be applied to people, community, planet and world, and she gave examples of how a business could be affected – from the way it communicates with kindness and respect to its employees and customers to its volunteering to help the community – at a bay cleanup, for instance.
Malek said the organization “is in conversation with the city to become kindness certified.”
“You guys have an opportunity to get in on the ground floor, she said.
Businesses, she said, can post their participation on their own Websites or on the organization’s and “build relationships with other like-minded companies.”
www.kidsforpeaceglobal.org/
The meeting also heard again from Arlene Tendick, community outreach for the massive development proposal at Oceanside Transit Center. Tendick and Mike Winter senior construction manager for Toll Brothers, the proposed developer, addressed MainStreet’s Monthly Meeting last December.
Planned are a new hotel on Seagaze Drive;, 500-plus apartments, with a percentage of them deemed “affordable”; new train and bus depots,; new North County Transit District headquarters; and a 1,798 -space parking garage.
Tendick said environmental documents were reviewed in January and a community meeting held in February with another scheduled April 26.
Final action is up to the state Coastal Commission.
She’s happy, Tendick said, to set up other meetings as groups request them.
Overall goal, Tendick said, is to revitalize the transit center and increase ridership.
Now, she said, “people don’t really go there”. She showed a video of the proposed “enhanced transit center” and said it will be “so comfortable” to be there.
Tendick said the last time she was at a MainStreet meeting, there were a lot of questions as to whether the sidewalks will be wide enough. They range, she said, from 8 feet to 20 feet – far above the city requirement of 5 feet.
There’s three times the dropoff area, she said, and “mobility issues were taken into consideration”.
Public art will be included, Tendick said, and, nodding toward Kristi Hawthorne, director of Oceanside Historical Society, in the audience, she said there will be recognition of local history as well.
From the audience, Jane Marshall said “the homeless population that hangs out there makes it scary” for people to use now. She said there’s “camping” on the premises.
Winter replied that there are security plans.
Melissa Burwell, who lives in the Oceanside Terraces condominium complex which looks down on the current parking garage suggested parking not be free to the public, as now, but require a fee to open a gate for entry.
Now, Burwell said, motorcycles use the roof of the current free garage to practice noisy “wheelies” that set off car alarms at all hours.
Winter said the developers “will figure out what is best.”
Burwell also asked for a stop sign at Seagaze and Tremont Street.
Earlier in the meeting, Garrison Young, Clean and Safe Manager for the downtown improvement district managed by MainStreet, said its cleanup efforts have been enhanced by a $2,000 grant from San Diego Gas & Electric Co.
Young showed containers of products used to cover or remove graffiti.
He offered a three-page, day-by-day report of cleanup operations detailing the number of bags (53 total) of trash collected and graffiti cleaned up and where.
In total, $375,000 has been allocated for the improvement district this year, Gumaro Escarcega, MainStreet Chief Operating Officer, said and “we’re stretching every dollar.”
Also at the meeting, Cathy Nykiel, MainStreet Director of Events and Sunset Market Manager, announced the kickoff of a number of events, including showing the “Stay Classy O’side” flier announcing an Earth Day fun zone at the Sunset Market from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. on April 20 and a Creek-to Bay Cleanup from 9 a. m. to noon on April 22.
Nykiel said tickets are available for the annual Mothers Day Is Sweet event May 6, and she said there will be a “sweet challenge” scavenger hunt May 6 through Mother’s Day, May 14.
Operation Appreciation is May 26, the annual PRIDE celebration is scheduled June 3, and Nykiel’s “fave,” the Independence Parade on June 24.
Nominations are open, Nykiel said, for “Hometown Heroes” to be honored in the parade.
Marshall announced that the next Oceanside Coastal Neighborhood Association meeting will be held at 7 p.m. April 26 at St. Mary’s School, 515 Wisconsin Ave.
Eileen Turk from KOCT community television pitched that organization’s fundraising lunch April 20 at Texas Roadhouse. Because it’s a larger restaurant, Turk said, there will be only one seating – at noon. “We need your support,” she said.
Hawthorne announced that free, leisurely two-hour history walks will resume at 9 a.m. on the second Saturday of the month, starting from the Civic Center fountain.
The next monthly meeting will be held at 8:30 a.m. May 2 in MainStreet headquarters, 701 Mission Ave.
Meeting Notes by Lola Sherman
The MainStreet Morning Meeting is held on the first Tuesday of each month at 8:30 a.m.
We welcome all parties interested in the progress of Downtown Oceanside, including businesspeople, residents, and City staff.
This informative one-hour meeting is held in an informal discussion format. The general public is always welcome! Come meet your city officials, MainStreet Oceanside staff and members and find out about upcoming events and changes to YOUR downtown and city.
The MainStreet Morning Meeting is held at the MainStreet Oceanside meeting room at 701 Mission Avenue. Call our office for more information or directions at (760) 754-4512.
