By TR Robertson
At the beginning of the meeting the new San Diego Sheriff who was just assigned to the Vista Station came in and introduced himself and two of his Lieutenants.
At the March meeting the Vista Chamber of Commerce Government Affairs Committee watched a presentation by Chris Arce, Director of the City of Vista Public Works Department, detailing all of the programs, duties and departments this part of the city’s responsibilities handles each day. He said they currently have 58 public works employees but will soon be adding 2 additional employees. Chris proudly said 80-90% of the employees are from Vista. Their departments’ mission is primarily the maintenance of the city’s public infrastructure. A few of their departments they handle includes the Administration of the storm water and wastewater maintenance, parks and numerous other projects most of the public is not aware of.
They also assist with the maintenance of the Household Hazardous Waste Facility, which is available to the citizens on Saturdays from 9am-3pm, except on holidays. For the Streets Division they maintain 185 miles of Vista streets including 12,000 city street signs. A city street sign will have the city seal on the sign as well as the name of the street. This department also deals with stray shopping carts and pothole repairs. In the Fleet Division, Public Works has 157 fleet vehicles, 5 technicians and 48 fire vehicles. In the Wastewater Division, this department maintains 320 miles of wastewater pipes. These pipes are on a 12–18 month cleaning schedule. The department also maintains 4 pump stations that transfers wastewater to the Encina Wastewater Treatment Plant in Carlsbad.
Those in the Parks Division maintain the 200 park acres that encompasses the 15 parks and 17 sports fields in the city. In these parks there are 16,778 trees that are monitored, trimmed and cared for. The department also takes care of the street parkways and median landscaping. Chris pointed out there are 2 new pickleball courts that were converted from several of the tennis courts. The 4 remaining tennis courts were resurfaced. In the Facilities/Utilities Division, Public Works is responsible for the city buildings and structures which includes 33 sites and 88 structures encompassing 500,000 square feet. The department also maintains the 3,600 streetlights in the city and hundreds of miles of underground wiring. One project almost completed is the addition of colored lighting on the trees on Main Street in Downtown Historic Vista. Some streetlights will soon be solar powered in areas where electrical hook-up is not available. Chris highly encouraged all Vista residents to put the Access Vista Mobile App on their phones and contact them when they see issues in the city that their department can address.
Governmental Updates
Josh Sino Cruz from the City of Vista – The Vista City Council will be hearing from and dealing with a number of issues in the coming weeks including a Budget Workshop, a speed limit update and discussion for implementation in several districts, and a report from the homeless committee on issues in the city. The Avo Theatre renovation is estimated to cost $1.3 million to bring the theatre up to standards and good working order. There are a number of musical concerts featuring tribute bands scheduled for the Moonlight Amphitheatre this summer.
Kristal Jabara from Supervisor Jim Desmond’s Office – A number of items dealing with fire prevention are being discussed and there has been an addition of a night flying helicopter and several new tenders for fighting fires. Another issue is the implementation of emergency cleanup of homeless encampments for fire prevention under red flag warnings.
Ryan Ewart from Assembly Member Laurie Davies Office – The Assembly Member has been appointed as Vice Chair to several additional committees. The Assembly Member is working on and evaluating a number of legislative bills proposed. These include AB 615 that would require as part of the approval process to operate an energy storage facility including a safety risk assessment. Another bill includes AB 545, a measure that would clarify that no product may call itself or market itself an electric (E-bike) if it is physically capable of exceeding 750 watts. Another measure is AB 1005 which authorizes schools to work with outside organizations to provide water safety education to 1st-12th graders and parents. AB 296 is a measure that would require school districts to host at least 1 apprenticeship fair in a school year in the same way they do college or career fairs. These are a few of the 2025 legislative packages to consider.
Rachel Beld – CEO of the Vista Chamber of Commerce – The Chamber recently won 2 awards at a Chamber convention in Las Vegas, one for the Vista Magazine and 1 for the Chamber Internship Program. The Chamber recently held a successful Latino business outreach business mixer. Internships signups for this summer are currently underway. The ‘Meet the Leaders’ presentation is on hold. The Chamber Heroes of Vista Celebration will be at the Vistonian on March 14th, limited seats are available.
Reports from the Vista Irrigation District – the VID is involved in a Capitol Improvement Pipeline Replacement Program replacing 2 miles of pipe each year. VID is currently involved in rate increase studies. There is a vacancy on the board for Division 2. Backup cameras are being installed on larger VID vehicles. The 2025 Water Smart Landscape Project is underway.
Cliff Kaiser, Chairman of the Palomar Airport Advisory Committee, reported that American Airlines is currently offering daily flights to Phoenix from Palomar Airport.
