Local News

August 17, 2006

Las Posas Extension Approved - But Money Needed

Sometime you’ll be able to drive on Las Posas Road right to Buena Creek Road, but it will be awhile. Even thought the issue has been placed on the final road plan by the county Board of Supervisors nothing is likely to happen before (a) an environmentally sensitive area between Santa Fe Hills and Buena Creek is opened to development. That’s the word from San Marcos City Councilman Hal Martin.

Without the money from developer fees . . . there will be no roads built. That’s just how the system works, he explained.

The property, about 290 acres, has been owned by Orange County resident Farouk Kubba since 1981. He’d like to develop it but the residents of Santa Fe Hills are not too keen on it and have opposed such plans, claiming they don’t want increased traffic in the area.

The Las Posas extension is listed on San Marcos' 20-year-old current circulation element as a four-lane undivided road to Buena Creek, said Assistant City Manager Paul Malone.

So far, Martin and council member Jim Desmond have come out in favor of the extension. Opposed are Mayor Corky Smith and Preston. Pia Harris-Ebert has announced she will not stand for re-election so the newly elected councilmember who fills her seat could be the swing vote. Desmond is running for the Mayor’s seat and Preston has not announced yet whether he will run or not, so the many variables of support/opposition to the project could change substantially.

Martin said the council will probably hold another hearing on the matter, even though he said the subject is moot until someone develops that land.

Pia Harris Calls It Quits

She’s been in office as a councilmember so long it almost appeared she was a permanent fixture. No more. Six-term council member Pia Harris-Ebert announced last week she would not seek re-election, vacating a council seat that she has held for 24 years and opening the race for two council seats to a single incumbent and a field of challengers. Harris-Ebert had pulled papers and said she planned on running. But, last week she changed her mind. Harris-Ebert said she is stepping down to focus on her school teaching and her 10 children and 18 grandchildren.

Incumbent Mike Preston filed papers last week to seek a second term.

The apparent challengers are Planning Commission Chairman Dean Nelson, Planning Commission member Chris Orlando, and political newcomers Gary Sloan and Stephen Tomacelli.

The mayor's race will pit longtime incumbent Mayor Corky Smith versus two-year councilman Jim Desmond.

Friends and political foes alike praised Harris-Ebert for her many years of political service and for her integrity in her votes.

Harris-Ebert said she would endorse Jim Desmond for mayor and possibly Orlando for council.
Palomar Trustees: It’s a “Go” for $694 Million Bond Issue

Look for another plea for your votes come November 7th when the Palomar College Board of Trustees ask you to approve a bond measure that will give them $694 million to modernize the 60 year old campus.
It took them more than a year of research and discussion, but when they voted they voted unanaimously to ‘go for it.’.

If the measure is approved by more than 55 percent of district voters, the bond money would be combined with about $270 million in state matching funds to renovate Palomar's main campus in San Marcos and build satellite campuses in Fallbrook and the Poway area.

Cost to the taxpayers would be $14.72 per $100,000 in assessed property value for those living within the district. The district spans from eastern Oceanside to Borrego Springs, and from Fallbrook to Rancho Penasquitos.

Details supporting the bond issue are found at the college website:
www.palomar.edu/masterplan.

Now that the issue is on the ballot, the college must begin an aggressive fundraising drive to pay for a promotional campaign featuring media advertising and direct mail that are expected to cost at least $200,000.

Being a new bond issue there is no known opposition to the bond so far, but a consultant hired by the district warned last month that the college must be concerned about anti-tax sentiment in the region, and the possibility of low voter turnout during a nonpresidential election.

School Board Unification: It Ain’t Over Till the Fat Lady Sings

Even though the Escondido Elementary District has said ‘no dice’ to the idea of unification between the elementary and high school districts the Escondido Union High School District is saying, ‘not so fast. Let’s talk about it some more.”

Trustees say they’d like to meet with the elementary board to discuss the potential financial and academic benefits that just might warrant more investigation.

"School districts in this community haven't taken the time and energy it (unification) deserves to ask this community for its input," board President Charlie Snowder said. "The more knowledge you have, the better chance you have of making a correct decision."

A recent study, commissioned by the EUHS District said that, in addition to the organizational benefits that would come with having one school board and district administration, Escondido schools would receive an extra $10 million in state and federal funds annually with unification. That amount would drop to about $8 million after the costs of equalizing employee salaries and benefits between the two districts, the study says.

Snowder said that while money shouldn't be the only reason to consider unification, it is important.

"Ten million dollars is a phenomenal amount of money to be gifted with in a state where you have to chase every single dollar," Snowder said.

San Marcos Creek District - Parking - Shopping Plans Revealed

The task force overseeing plans for the future San Marcos Creek District were told that using a mix of public transportation, limited parking and a pedestrian-friendly scale of development, would likely reduce parking and traffic demand within the district.

There would be an environment where people would walk around to shop and enjoy open spaces instead of driving.

The presentation by Nelson Nygaard Associates, one of the consultant groups hired by the city, also laid out ways that cities have used to enhance their downtowns and commercial districts ---- mainly from providing alternatives to parking lots.

The planned development along San Marcos Creek will have retail shops, restaurants, condos and apartment buildings. The vision calls for the eventual build-out of 1.1 million square feet of retail space, 600,000 square feet of office space, and 2,300 condominiums and apartments.

Nelson Nygaard also proposed a limited shuttle service to carry people to the district from various points around the city ---- like Cal State San Marcos, Palomar College and the Civic Center, which are all stops on the Sprinter line scheduled to open December 2007.

Paul Malone, San Marcos Assistant City Manager, estimated that 60 percent of the plan for the Phase I build-out would be finished in late September or October. That will include widening Discovery Street, Via Vera Cruz, Bent Avenue and a new road called McMahr Street, which is a southern expansion of Las Posas Road.

"Phase I is the backbone of the plan. It sets the table," Malone said after the meeting. He estimates Phase I to cost $100 million. "Certainly not less than $80 million."

All of the infrastructure could cost as much as $200 million. The city will pay for half of the costs, while the rest would be paid for by developers.

Escondido’s Capital Projects on the Move

Escondido city officials report that progress is steady on the building of the public safety buildings authorized by voters almost two years ago.

The $84.3 million public safety bond would provide for five proposed facilities.

A rebuilt Fire Station No. 1, along with a joint headquarters for the Police and Fire departments, will eat up most of the money generated through Proposition P.

Besides these two facilities, the bond calls for the construction of three additional fire stations, each about 9,000 square feet and costing roughly $6 million apiece.

Estimated costs for the facility have jumped nearly 22 percent, to $17.7 million from $14.5 million when the bond was passed in November 2004.

Overall, construction costs have risen by roughly 15.6 percent annually, compared with the 3 percent inflation rate calculated in the bond measure.

To try and trim costs the city had reduced the headquarters from a planned 124,000 square feet to 117,000 square feet and working on building all five facilities at once, rather than one at a time.

Additionally, the city has $6.3 million of public safety money it previously stashed away in hopes of providing matching funds for a proposed statewide library bond. Since that bond measure failed at the ballot box this spring, a majority of council members have said they would like to use the money to offset rising construction costs on the headquarters and other safety facilities.