VISTA — The City Council voted to have staff explore the quickest way to add public restrooms to Raintree Park, whether by modifying the existing restrooms in a building leased to Universidad Popular or building from scratch.
Introducing the discussion at Tuesday evening’s council meeting with a slideshow of park photos, Councilmember Corinna Contreras said the small, 1-acre park in the Townsite neighborhood has been neglected despite being a popular destination for arena soccer and court handball players.
“When we look at Raintree Park, we know it’s been left behind,” Contreras said. “There are no public restrooms. The soccer arena is falling apart. The handball court is a beautiful opportunity to have a community canvas really reflecting culture.”
Nine members of the public then spoke, all urging the city to update the park.
Vladimir Lopez pointed out that when groups organize soccer or handball tournaments at the park, they have to rent portable toilets.
Joseph Jiminez asked the City Council to consider authorizing a public mural, perhaps by the same artists who created one in Balderrama Park in Oceanside.
Mike Lagos, an art curator from Oceanside, told the council that volunteers could help the city save money by preparing the walls before the mural is created. Doing this, he said, involves the community.
Another speaker, Ken Zuniga, urged the council to consider adding lighting so residents can use the park during evening hours in the winter, when it gets dark earlier.
The final speaker said the city’s lack of attention to Raintree Park has led users to assume the expense of replacing the netting in the soccer goals.
During the council discussion, Mayor John Franklin suggested that adding exterior doors to the existing restrooms in the city-owned building leased to Universidad Popular might be faster than building from scratch — although he acknowledged that the lease terms might have to be modified to allow shared use of the restrooms.
At the end of the discussion, Contreras moved to direct staff to identify funding for new restrooms and direct the arts and parks commissions to hold at least two public workshops at the park to gather community feedback on upgrades, including a public art component.
Deputy Mayor Dan O’Donnell asked to amend the motion to direct staff to consider adding Raintree Park to ongoing solar street lighting upgrades. Franklin seconded the motion, suggesting that the city attorney’s office look into ways volunteers could become more involved in park maintenance without violating state labor laws. The measure passed unanimously.
Earlier in the meeting, Vista Fire Chief Gerard Washington presented an updated fire route map to the council. The map shows the main routes fire engines and ambulances take when responding to most calls.
In conjunction with the updated map, Washington proposed a pilot program using what he called “speed lumps” in place of speed bumps on Taylor Street in north Vista to calm traffic without impeding emergency response times.
Washington explained that “speed lumps” have two cutouts that align with a fire engine’s wheels, allowing engines to respond to emergencies without slowing for each bump. However, he cautioned that ambulances have different wheel spacing and would still have to slow down. Even at slower speeds, he said, the bumps or lumps can be extremely uncomfortable for patients being transported to the emergency room.
The council directed staff to explore the feasibility of the proposed pilot program, as well as speed bump requests from residents throughout the city.
The council also approved allocating $190,000 to purchase and install new traffic signals at North Santa Fe Avenue and Angeles Vista Drive, and at South Santa Fe Avenue and Santa Anita Drive.
At the start of the meeting, the mayor announced that the council had voted in closed session to appoint Amanda Guy as acting city attorney.
