City addresses Santo Tomas vendors
CALEXICO — City officials on Monday made it clear to Santo Tomas Swap Meet vendors that everything is being done within their power to help the fire-damaged property fully re-open in a timely and safe manner.
Some council members also suggested that any frustration vendors may feel about the perceived delays in the process shouldn’t be directed solely at city officials, but perhaps the property owner as well.
“We need to put more pressure where it needs to be placed,” said Councilman David Romero, after having cited the actions city officials have taken to date, as well as the local, state and federal services and resources currently available to assist impacted vendors. “We can’t do anything more.”
Romero’s remarks came during a community forum aimed at addressing the frustrated vendors’ concerns about the swap meet’s current status and potential outcomes.
Vendors again pleaded with city officials to allow them to return to work under conditions similar to those that existed previous to the Dec. 8 fouralarm fire that destroyed dozens of vendors’ stalls and prompted the swap meet’s closure.
City officials in turn made it clear that the property owner is the sole party responsible for determining if and when the swap meet becomes fully operational.
“What I’m seeing is that the owner is not communicating at all,” said Councilwoman Rosie Arreola-Fernandez. “That’s where the problem lies.”
Although the swap meet has since been opened on a partial basis, the property owner must comply with a series of building and code requirements before being allowed to re-open in the same capacity as before the fire.
The city is also requesting that the property owner a obtain $5 million bond that can provide the city with some leverage to ensure the required upgrades are performed.
“It’s the owner that needs to address those issues,” said City Manager David Dale. “None of that stuff the vendors can do.”
To date, the swap meet owners have not acted on the bond request or the code upgrades, officials said.
City officials also made it clear that there wasn’t anything they could do to force the property owner to comply with the proposed code requirements, since it was a private business.
One vendor pointedly asked what would become of the impacted and displaced vendors if the property owner ultimately chooses to not comply with the city’s requirements.
Although Assistant City Manager Miguel Figueroa said there was a number of options city officials could take to potentially expand business opportunities for vendors at the location or elsewhere, he also said he was not in a position to answer the hypothetical question.
“Until we get to that point, there’s not a response the city can give,” Figueroa said.
Monday’s public forum started with a presentation by Figueroa that provided information about the city’s actions to date. He also notified those present that the Calexico Fire Department’s report of its investigation into the origins and cause of the blaze will be publicly available Friday.
The presentation was then followed by a question-and-answer period, where vendors again asked whether the city could reconsider its prohibition against the overnight storage of merchandise in the section of swap meet that was partially reopened for business.
Councilman Bill Hodge also encouraged city officials to reconsider the prohibition, since it placed a hardship on vendors, but was told the city could not lift the ban.
“The way that it has been done for the past 25 years is not acceptable,” Dale said.
The possibility of having metal storage sheds installed on the property as an alternative to having vendors load and unload their merchandise into vehicles on a daily basis was also floated on Monday. Such a plan would ultimately be up to ownership to approve.
Merchandise could also potentially be stored on site in a properly permitted and constructed structure.
City officials also indicated that it could be possible to allow temporary sales to return to the site of the area of the swap meet impacted by the blaze, which has since been cleaned up according to standards. Current operations are confined to a parking lot on the swap meet’s southern boundary
That possibility would require council approval as well as the blessing of the swap meet owner.
“We have a lot of sympathy for the displaced vendors,” Dale said. “But our number one goal is the public’s safety.”