Instead of paying overtime and double time for police to staff our event we should be looking into hiring the many police officers that have lost hours due to cut backs in their depts. We could have twice as many police if only paid out on what they make on a normal day and not what they make after a fourty hour week.

Has anyone thought about contracting with the Port Police? I am sure the officers from that department would enjoy a little overtime pay.
$90.000 sounds like the Sheriff's office might not want the event to go foreward. I'm sure the event comes with a lot of headaches for the Sheriffs.
Sandcastles is the only thing we have that brings the tourists to town. It would be a shame to loose it

Security can be provided by Co-Op partnerships with other Law Enforcement agencies, civilian and military volunteers and outsourced security companies. Why should the Sheriffs get the monopoly. Imperial Beach is a diverse community. Perhaps the Sheriffs Substation at the pier can be the Command and Control Center for all of the various agencies. Time to think outside of the box.

I agree, that there must be a solution to this. The Sheriff's Department here in IB Very shortstaffed and we share those on patrol with Bonita. Time to recreate our own police department. But for Sand Castle why not hire out if t is cost effective.

It's very interesting that IB does not have $45,000 or even $90,000 to pay for the only international "anything" Imperial Beach will ever host. Without regard for the most vulnerable residents of the city, or the false, misleading and inconsistent information that has been provided by the city manager to the council, City Hall appears to have endless funds to finance an effort to overturn the will of the voters regarding Prop. 215.

Considering that IB's city officials have vowed to ban medical marijuana collectives from operating in the city despite the real possibility of the city being on the wrong side of a losing and costly legal battle, one in which all legal fees from both sides would be paid for by the city.

For just one local example, take a look at the public money and court losses the City of San Marcos is currently facing...
http://www.safeaccesssd.org/2011/03/superior-court-judge-allows-dispensary.html

Marcus
The subject is about security cost for the Sandcastle event.
Start a new thread if the Patch will allow it. The city needs to know what the residents think.
Mixing topics can lead to all kinds of miss information being spread around.
Let your opinion be known.

The unfortunate truth is that in this litigiousness society we live in, every decision (business or personal) is very likely to be preceeded with a legal question: "What is my liability if I do this?" The risk of being sued in a court of law even for the most minor and innocent of oversights daily constrains many of this community's best from pursuing their ideas and dreams.

I'm sure that even if an off-duty Sheriff officer wanted to volunteer his/her time and security services to the Sandcastle Committee, the liability (or the insurance to offset a potential lawsuit) would be prohibitive and more than the Sandcastle Committee has available to spend.

So whether it's the threat of a rowdy out-of-town visitor suing a volunteer Security officer for "excesssive force" during the Sandcastle weekend fireworks display OR an over-zealous medical marijuana "patient" suing the City for impeding his 1st Amendment Right of access to cultivated pharmaceuticals - we all ultimately lose!

I am surprised the "Good Samaritan" clause hasn't been torn from the pedestal of Human Compassion. mdm

Sand Castle is an important event that should continue however it may be time for the committee to consider a different model. We should applaud the Sand Castles Committee dedication for turning this into a world class event but the residents of Imperial Beach have a stake in this as well. The event for good or bad turns the lives of residents upside down. It’s naïve to believe that creating that much density doesn’t pose a security issue however that can be managed with a different business model that will always ensure for the high costs of security. Financing should never be an issue with this kind of attendance. San Diego’s Comic-Con only has an attendance of $125,000 over three days but delivers a $163 million in economic activity for the City of San Diego. Imperial Beach should benefit from the event and this can be accomplished if the committee has minimal cost to attend, the new hotel gets built, and the city reconsiders its restrictive vacation rental policy. It’s the TOT tax that will benefit all of us in Imperial Beach. There may be a smaller attendance however those that see the value in the amazing sandcastles the Committee has brought will continue to come.

Thanks Steve, a light in the dark. I agree with you 100% "and the city reconsiders its restrictive vacation rental policy. It’s the TOT tax that will benefit all of us in Imperial Beach". Perhaps with a new council they will see the value of vacation rentals and the increased positive cash flow for the entire community.

Good point Tracy. This event can be leveraged to bring great benefit to our city where everyone benefits. The TOT part is essential. There is no reason why vacations rentals can't exist along the entire I.B. coast and provide a safe quality experience for both visitors and residents. The previous debate was so full of misinformation. It should be an essential part the Sand Castle model that should also include a marketing component that provides an opportunity for a larger part of the I.B. business community to participate in the event. Maybe a bit less on the carnival type booths and a bit more on promoting our businesses. The Chamber of Commerce should be leading the way on this.

Steve thanks for your good comments with which I agree. However, the first I had heard of this is this article in the Patch. No one from Sandcastle has contacted the Chamber to get ideas, feed back or funding. We had no idea the event had been canceled until after the fact. The Chamber would be delighted to have Sandcastle continue and will do all we can to help. There is a lot of communication missing here and we all need to work together to make this happen and continue it as the great tradition. And congratulations to the IB Posse for their win. They built sand sculptures at the Christmas Comes to IB event this year gratis just to help us with the event. It was a great success. Let us hope that not only the Chamber but all other civic organizations will be contacted so we can make this happen.