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Public asks for Summerwinds park cameras; council directs staff to fund parks master plan and review security options
Summary
A resident said Summerwinds Park has seen vandalism and requested parity with Fourth Street Park cameras; councilmembers asked staff to include a parks and trails master‑plan consultant ($75,000) and staff added $100,000 seed funds in the Summerwinds CFD to explore security technologies.
A public commenter told the Calimesa City Council workshop that Summerwinds Park has endured vandalism and that the park lacks the security camera funding budgeted for Fourth Street Park, asking the city to correct the disparity.
“At the time, the budget contained general funds for security cameras for Fourth Street Park currently budgeted at $6,200. No funds were provided for security of the Summer Winds Park,” the commenter said, recounting incidents he said had included torn‑down signs, lighting damage and bullying, and describing about $15,000 in city costs tied to vandalism. “There are ample funds in both Summerwinds community, facilities district fund and the unreserved fund balance of approximately $3,100,000.0 to pay for such cameras,” the commenter added.
Councilmembers and staff discussed park security options and technology. Staff noted Fourth Street Park’s original camera system is older technology and that installing the same system at Summerwinds would not meet current expectations. The city manager and finance staff said a comprehensive approach would be preferable: identify scalable technology and a funding plan that could be applied across city parks rather than piecemeal retrofits.
Councilmember Jeff proposed using an existing $75,000 parks allocation to hire a consultant to update the city’s parks and trails master plan and mapping. Councilmembers concurred and the mayor asked staff to incorporate the suggestion into the budget document for the June 2 adoption. Staff said they will scope the master plan work; the parks and trails commission, staff and public workshops will likely be part of the consultant work.
Staff also said they had increased a Summerwinds CFD operating line by $100,000 in the draft budget to provide seed money for maintenance and to support evaluation of security options. Staff cautioned that some bond and CFD funds are restricted in use and that purchases must follow allowable uses, but said maintenance and security are likely eligible in many cases.
The council did not adopt a specific security product; it directed staff to develop a recommended, scalable parks security plan and return costs and options to the council as part of the final budget process.
