Oceanside narrows search for veterans hall

By: DAVID STERRETT - Staff Writer | Monday, August 14, 2006 11:13 PM PDT ∞

OCEANSIDE ---- The former police headquarters building on Mission Avenue is the only city-owned property suitable for a veterans hall, Oceanside officials said Monday after touring two possible sites.

None of the many Oceanside veterans organizations has its own facility, and city officials are trying to find a building the groups could lease from the city to use for socializing and hosting fundraisers or meetings.

Mayor Jim Wood, Councilman Rocky Chavez and Chuck Atkinson, who is representing 25 different veterans organizations with more than 5,000 members, took a tour Monday of the former Playgirl nightclub building in downtown Oceanside and the former police headquarters.

The officials said the former strip club was too small and didn't have enough parking spaces but that the large vacant police building could be transformed into a meeting hall for veterans groups from around North County.

"This is probably perfect because of its size and location," said Chavez as he stood in the 17,000-square-foot former police station. "But this will take a significant commitment from the veterans' groups because they will have to pay for it."

City officials have said they will help the groups find a site but won't use taxpayer money to pay for renovations or operations of a veterans hall.

Atkinson said the veterans organizations have spent more than a year looking for a site and that the police building was the best so far.

The city plans to remove the jail cells from the building in the next couple of months, said Peter Weiss, the director of public works, who added that the city "gutted" the rest of the building about 18 months ago

He said it would cost between $1.2 million and $1.5 million to make the building usable for the public because electricity, heating, ventilation and air conditioning have to be installed. He said those improvements would not include flooring, additional rest-rooms and permanent walls needed to create offices or meeting spaces for the veterans group.

But while walking around the dark building with a flashlight on Monday, Atkinson said the facility would be "fantastic" for a veterans hall.

"It's got a lot of rooms where different organizations could hold functions at the same time," Atkinson said.

The veterans groups are looking for a building that could have a kitchen and bar, 150 parking spaces, five to six offices and 5,000 square feet of meeting space.

Atkinson said he was working with 25 different groups on the project, including the local American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars posts, the Marine Corps League and Peal Harbor survivors.

The groups plan to form a nonprofit corporation to manage the facility. Councilman Chavez said it should take about six months to create the corporation and that the groups will also have to begin raising money for the hall.

He said they could save money by getting their members help to donate supplies and help do the work.

Atkinson said he was confident the veterans could get the money needed.

"We are willing to do whatever it takes to get a facility," Atkinson said. "I really like the former police stations, but the trouble is if the city wants us to have it."

City officials have said in the past that the building might be used as an emergency operations center of communication center for the city, but Wood and Chavez both said Wednesday these activities could probably be done at other city-owned locations.

The council members each said the city's code enforcement department could move into the front part of the building when the department moves from its location across City Hall to make way for Fire Station 1 in the next couple of years.

If code enforcement moved into the building, the city would install all of the needed electricity and air conditioning, which would reduce the cost for the veterans groups.

Public Works Director Weiss said it would take the city about eight or nine months to do the initial improvements to the building.

City officials said they haven't yet been able to find another possible site for a veterans hall. Wood said he plans to meet with Camp Pendleton officials in the coming months about locations on the base. The Oceanside Unified School District sent the city a letter on Aug. 3 stating that the closed San Rafael Elementary School "would not be a site that could be used by the veterans groups, even on a temporary basis."

Wood and Chavez both said they hoped residents or business owners would step forward to help fund the project and maybe even donate a vacant industrial or commercial building.

The two council members will provide a report during Wednesday's council meetings about the search for a location for a veterans hall.

Atkinson said veterans groups need a building like their counterparts in Vista and San Marcos, so they have a place to meet and hold fundraisers.

"Before we ask for money from people we have to show them we have a place to go," Atkinson said Monday. "Looking at these sties today was a great step in the right direction."

Contact staff writer David Sterrett at (760) 901-4067 or dsterrett@nctimes.com.

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