OCEANSIDE一 On Sept. 9 the Oceanside Harbor and Beaches Advisory Committee met for a special meeting to hear the staff recommendation for the Harbor Public Safety Service Model, where they unanimously voted against the draft and sent city staff back to the drawing board.
In Aug. 2020 city staff assembled an informal working group of Harbor stakeholders, that included staff from various city departments, two current members of the Harbor and Beaches Advisory Committee, and two Harbor stakeholders. The group met three times to discuss options and presented their original findings at the March, 15 meeting.
The proposal was presented then presented to the public by Jonathon Borrego the deputy city manager for the city of Oceanside at the Sept. 9 meeting.
The proposal included: 16-hour dedicated water and landside lifeguard coverage from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. and a minimum of two lifeguards including a boat operator and rescue swimmer on 16 hours shifts this included a staff change by adding a lieutenant and two sergeants; 24-hour fire and paramedic coverage that would extend beyond the harbor into a larger coastal area between the harbor and Oceanside Boulevard, west of the I-5, the cost would be split between the city and harbor;...
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2 Responses
I am surprised more harbors don’t use the modernized lifeguard model of harbor patrol utilized in Long Beach and San Diego (Mission Bay). City Lifeguards can be granted Peace Officer powers which grant them authority to enforce harbor laws. The lifeguards offer the law enforcement, medical and rescue swimmer response all at an affordable cost. This allows the police and Sheriff Departments to use their officers for real crime on the streets. This is a win-win.
This model would work well in Newport too where they City could buff out the harbor patrol with paramedics and City firefighters and the Sheriff could focus on offshore illegal vessel interdiction (smugglers).
Good luck with that in Newport. Last time I checked, Newport is the largest recreational harbor on the west coast. The “Lifeguard plan” would not work in such a large harbor. The current Sheriff’s Harbor Patrol in Newport has been studied many times over the years and always proves to be the best overall staffing model. Yes, it is not cheap, but you get what you pay for, 24/7, 365, trained staff that can handle almost any emergency inside and outside the harbors of Orange County. The old saying still holds true “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”