San Marcos May Join Contenders for North County Courtrooms Site

The debate over where to build new courtrooms in North County is expanding, with San Marcos Mayor Lee Thibadeau--flush from victory for winning a university to his city--suggesting that San Marcos may throw its hat in the ring of contenders to become a host to North County courtrooms.

Thibadeau, saying he no longer feels committed to supporting Escondido’s push for courtrooms, said he has asked his staff to consider the feasibility of offering space at the city’s proposed civic center for some of North County’s courts if county officials decide to decentralize North County’s regional justice center, which now has its headquarters in Vista.

But Thibadeau said San Marcos would not want to support all 35 to 50 courtrooms being considered for North County because San Marcos cannot house all the courtrooms and support facilities at its civic center except at the expense of municipal needs.

Would Support Vista

San Marcos has yet to officially notify the county that it wants to be a player in the battle, and last December officially endorsed Escondido’s courthouse proposal. But Thibadeau said Tuesday that he now would support Vista if a single courthouse is to serve all of North County.

“If they want to keep the courts centralized, Vista is the logical choice,” Thibadeau said.

County officials are studying how best to meet North County’s overtaxed courtroom needs, whether judges can share courtrooms to save money and whether courtrooms should be built in Vista or elsewhere in North County.

So far, only Escondido is battling Vista for the host role, saying it would gladly accommodate most of North County’s courtrooms at a site next to its new civic center. Escondido sweetened its offer by offering to subsidize the cost of the construction by about $6 million--money the city already owes the county because of redevelopment revenue that came at the county’s expense.

Land Purchase Offered

Vista officials have countered by offering to buy 6 acres next to the existing Vista courthouse and to give it to the county, which already owns 7 acres there, to provide more parking for an expanded courthouse. Vista Mayor Gloria McClellan argues that, since Vista already has a jail and courtrooms, the expansion rightfully should occur there, especially since the city will throw in 6 acres of free parking.

Steve Brennen, an analyst for the county who is studying North County’s court needs, said his staff is several months away from deciding which offer--Escondido’s or Vista’s--will be more lucrative over the long haul for the county and its taxpayers.

But a consultant’s report already has recommended that, wherever they end up going, the courts should remain intact and not be separated along criminal-civil lines or municipal-superior lines.

Thibadeau said Tuesday that, should the county decide, however, to build a small courthouse, he wants his city to be a candidate host, despite the earlier support for Escondido.

The San Marcos nod to Escondido last year seemed politically polite at the time; after all, Escondido had supported San Marcos’ successful campaign to become the site of a satellite campus for San Diego State University. Furthermore, the Escondido City Council had also supported, albeit by a split 3-2 vote, the construction of a trash-to-energy plant in San Marcos, a controversial project that would generate millions of dollars for San Marcos but has been fought by the city councils of Carlsbad and Encinitas.

Mostly Friendly Ties

The San Marcos-Escondido relationship had been mostly friendly for years. San Marcos supported the construction of the North County Fair shopping center in Escondido, and Escondido paid $200,000 to improve traffic problems on Nordahl Road caused by traffic generated by the Price Club, which San Marcos landed after the Price Club decided against locating in Escondido.

The relationship seems to have become strained in recent weeks, however, with the election of two new council members in Escondido.

Last week, new Councilman Kris Murphy--at a hearing before the county Board of Supervisors discussing the proposed San Marcos trash-to-energy plant, alleged a “secret deal” between Escondido’s former office holders and San Marcos, in which Escondido supported the trash plant in exchange for San Marcos’ support for courts in Escondido.

Murphy’s claim came a week on the heels of the new council’s voting 3 to 1 to oppose the San Marcos trash plant and instructing the city attorney to consider joining the cities of Carlsbad and Encinitas in filing legal action against the project.

“It became very obvious to me, with Mr. Murphy’s comment, that maybe they won’t continue to be the good neighbors they have been,” said Thibadeau on Tuesday. “So, I figured, let’s not sacrifice anything on their behalf. Let’s reevaluate whether hosting courtrooms in San Marcos might be beneficial to our city. That’s where we’re at.”

Thibadeau said he received a phone call from another Escondido council member, essentially apologizing for Murphy’s public remarks about the supposed “secret deal,” and that he is confident that the two cities, if temporarily estranged, will reconciliate.

“But we had walked away from the courthouse debate previously, out of courtesy to our neighbors,” Thibadeau said. “Now my position is, let’s see what the county wants. If it decides to decentralize the courts, let’s determine if there is benefit to San Marcos. We no longer have to defer to Escondido.”

Both McClellan in Vista and Murphy in Escondido say they don’t believe San Marcos will be a viable late entry in the courthouse sweepstakes, and that Vista and Escondido will, in the end, do battle between themselves for a single, expanded courthouse.