OCEANSIDE — The city approved a three-year joint-use agreement with the Oceanside Unified School District to share facilities, including a provision requiring the city to pay the district $32,000 for increased field maintenance.
Two years ago, the city and school district entered into a joint-use facilities agreement following years of negotiations between the two agencies and input from several local sports groups.
The agreement benefited the city, which has faced a growing need for additional fields and gyms, by expanding access to school facilities. It also provided public access to school parks during after-school and weekend hours, helping the city meet its standard of 5 acres of parkland per 1,000 residents.
At the same time, the agreement guaranteed district students priority access to city aquatic centers and other recreational facilities.
The previous agreement expired May 31 and continued month to month while the city and district negotiated a replacement.
The newly approved three-year agreement, presented to the City Council on Aug. 19, incorporates several changes made over the past two years, including eliminating all facility rental fees and most staff reimbursement charges.
OUSD benefits
Under the new agreement, the district has free access to city swimming pools and recreation facilities at its existing level of use, amounting to approximately 725 hours at aquatic centers and 145 hours at the Country Club Senior Center and El Corazon Event Center. The district will also receive an additional 12 hours at the Brook Street Swim Center for its Adult Transition Program.
The agreement adds 150 hours of access to volleyball courts at Harbor Beach and unlimited use of city parks and trails for cross-country programs.
It also provides the district with 20 hours of gym use and 250 hours of field and ballfield use. District programs will receive Category 5 priority for city gyms and fields to ensure they do not displace recreational and competitive programs serving city residents.
The agreement also gives the district access to library community rooms, subject to availability and staffing. The district will be responsible for any related staffing costs.
City benefits
The agreement increases the number of hours the city may permit district facilities to third-party groups from 485 to 1,275 annually at six sites: Jefferson, Martin Luther King Jr. and Lincoln middle schools; Surfside Academy; Pablo Tac School of the Arts; and South Oceanside Elementary School. The agreement also provides the city with an additional 1,375 hours to permit the ballfield at Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School.
The Parks and Recreation Department will be responsible for permitting the facilities, with fees paid to the city.
Under the agreement, the city’s 750 hours at high school gyms and stadiums may be used only for staff-led and contracted Parks and Recreation programs. Third-party organizations seeking to use those facilities must continue to obtain permits directly from the school district.
Parks and Recreation Director Manuel Gonzalez said the city is expected to pay the district approximately $25,000 annually under the agreement. Because the district currently owes the city money, the city will make no payment during the agreement’s first year. It will pay $7,000 in the second year and the full $25,000 in the third year, for a total of $32,000 over three years.
“This is explicitly for enhanced maintenance at the fields,” Gonzalez said.
The agreement also allows the city to hold two events at either the Oceanside High School Performing Arts Center or El Camino High School’s Truax Performing Arts Center. The city will pay staffing costs, including theater technicians and custodians.
The agreement also opens the Del Rio Elementary School parking lot for overflow parking at the Melba Bishop Recreation Center and Community Park. Parking has become constrained in the area along North River Road because of increased construction traffic.
Some residents cited past problems with the agreement, including school sites remaining locked after hours and scheduling conflicts involving groups that had received city permits.
Gonzalez said the agreement also codifies public access to all district school parks after hours. He said city staff will continue working with the district to ensure permitted groups can enter the facilities during their designated times.
Deputy Mayor Eric Joyce, who previously served on the school board, suggested adding signs at school sites to inform the public that the parks are open after school. Gonzalez said the district believes its existing signage is sufficient.
The council unanimously approved the agreement.
