OCEANSIDE — The city has extended its contract with MainStreet Oceanside to provide security services downtown following the end of a one-year pilot program.
Almost exactly a year ago, the city approved a $1.3 million professional services agreement with MainStreet Oceanside to manage a one-year downtown security pilot program. MainStreet hired Gatekeepers Security Inc., which provided four security officers on foot, vehicle and bicycle patrols 24 hours per day, seven days a week in the downtown area.
After the city’s pilot program expired, the Oceanside City Council approved extending the contract by another 15 months for $1.9 million.
In June, the council allocated Measure X funds to bring security officers downtown, paying MainStreet Oceanside a $123,000 administration fee for staff and resources to manage the program. MainStreet Oceanside will help cover the cost with $149,000 from the Downtown Oceanside Property Business Improvement District’s security budget.
The amended security program will extend its reach to include more streets in and near the downtown area. Security officers will patrol areas from the Strand up to Horne Street, Civic Center Drive South to Seagaze Drive, Neptune Street South to Wisconsin Avenue, and cross streets including Pacific, Myers, Cleveland, Tremont, Freeman, Ditmar, Nevada, Clementine and Horne streets.
According to Economic Development Manager Michelle Geller, feedback from downtown businesses, residents and visitors regarding the security officers’ presence has been “overwhelmingly positive.” People expressed they felt safer walking to their cars at night and in general while downtown.
Geller noted although there have been a “handful of incidents” where some had negative experiences with a security officer, those incidents were “dealt with seriously and swiftly” by Gatekeepers leadership.
As part of the extended program, MainStreet Oceanside is also providing additional incident de-escalation training and best practices for how to interact with and provide resources for the area’s unhoused population. Security officers will work closely with the Oceanside Police Department’s Homeless Outreach team to assist in connecting unhoused individuals with resources.
“They’re working really well together,” said Gumaro Escarcega, chief operating officer of MainStreet Oceanside.
Council members Rick Robinson and Eric Joyce cautioned that while the situation downtown has improved, other areas of the city are still experiencing issues with homelessness, crime and property damage. Both officials also noted seeing more unhoused people moving inland.
“This service moves people out of a space – so they don’t disappear, they go to some other space, which we’ve seen just outside of downtown and down the hill where we’ve seen incidents rise,” Joyce said. “We can’t say it’s directly because of this, but it could be a contributing factor.”
Escarcega said MainStreet Oceanside will be reporting the program’s performance to the city on a monthly basis.
