In the poorest town in South County, supervisor candidates debate roads and homelessness

The poorest community in the South County took center stage at Thursday night's supervisor candidate forum, where incumbent Lynn Compton touted her record and newcomer Jimmy Paulding promoted his vision for creating a better Oceano.

The two are competing in the June 5 election to represent District 4 on the county Board of Supervisors. They answered a series of audience questions asked by the League of Women Voters at the Oceano Community Services District, which was overfilled with local residents.

The unincorporated community of Oceano is home to about 8,000 people, with a median household income of $52,000 and the highest poverty rate in the county at 21 percent, according to census data. Areas of the town deal with frequent flooding, and residents take issue with a lack of sidewalks.

"The basic needs of Oceano have been not prioritized," said Paulding, a 32-year-old planner and project manager who said he grew up down the street, in Arroyo Grande. "Oceano has suffered from a lack of representation, and we need an advocate. And I really want to be that advocate."

Lynn Compton, who is running for a second term, said she's running for office on her record.

"There's a very big difference, as you see tonight, between Jimmy and his lack of experience and me. The county does not need a project manager as a supervisor. We have a full public works department that competently does that job," Compton said.

Compton, 55, is one of three conservative board members who often vote as a block.

"Do you want a supervisor who will get things done that are important to you, or do you want someone who will swing the vote the other way?" Compton said.

On the economy

"I want to see an Oceano that isn't a diamond in the rough. I want to see an Oceano that has walkable, bikeable paths, restaurants, wineries, breweries, connections to the beach, a boardwalk, perhaps all the way from Oceano to Pismo. This could be a destination on the map," Paulding said.

He pointed to plan to revitalize Oceano that was created in 2013 and listed potential grant funding sources that are no cost to the taxpayer.

"That's something I'm going to do on day one, once in office," Paulding said, "use my experience in grant funding, ensuring that the Planning Department and Public Works Department has what they need to pursue the funds so we can actually improve our community."

Compton said the county is actively soliciting grants, mostly focusing on improvements to Front Street.

"We do need to bring businesses here," Compton said.

"The best thing to do is to make it a business-friendly place to come and a business-friendly place to work. And California, in general, is not like that due to our tax structure," said Compton, who recommended reducing fees in the area and shortening the permitting process.

On roads

Paulding said the county should take advantage of state funds from the SB 1 gas tax and that he would have supported Measure J, a half-cent sales tax that, he said, would have allowed the county to leverage for state funds.

"What I want to do is be your advocate to fight for the good use and expenditure of those funds so we could improve the infrastructure in our community," Paulding said, specifically calling out potential improvements to Tefft Street and the stretch of Highway 101 that runs through the area.

As a member of the board majority, Compton voted to prioritize funding for roads, adding $3 million to an annual allocation of $8 million. She said the pavement condition index, which measures the quality of roads, has "really improved in South County."

Compton said she didn't support Measure J or SB 1 because "I just don't fundamentally believe that on top of all the other taxes we have to put another tax on top of us for the roads."

She said Measure J would have directed $22 million to bikes and pedestrian ways and $22 million to public transportation, which she said is decreasing in use in the county. Paulding responded that the use of transit has decreased because of a lack of service.

On homelessness

"We are making progress," said Compton, who said most of the homeless problem is in San Luis Obispo.

She said the county has given funding to 40 Prado, a housing-first program called 50 Now and to the Five Cities Homeless Coalition, which she also volunteers with. That organization is actively seeking land to build a homeless facility in the area, and Compton said "that would be a good thing."

Paulding said homelessness is a huge issue in the South County and acknowledged that "the county has made progress."

"But when you sit down with Jana Nichols, who runs the 50 Now program, which is working really well, she'll say this needs to be a 200 Now program," he said. "What level of service do we want to provide as a community and are we doing good enough?"

He said he researched how other jurisdictions are dealing with homelessness and found a financial program where the county pays for housing the homeless and maintaining their basic needs with funds from investors, who are then reimbursed with cost savings to the county from lower medical and jail costs.

"We need people looking at innovative solutions instead of the status quo," Paulding said.

On the Oceano Dunes

A large economic force in the area is the Oceano Dunes State Vehicular Recreation Area, a state park that brings 2 million visitors to the area a year and has been under fire for downwind air-quality violations.

"I have no intent on closing down the dunes, the riding area. I grew up riding there as a kid, I have friends and family that run businesses there," Paulding said. "But, what I want to do is balance the interest, or essentially prioritize the interest, of our public health over that of recreation."

"To make the progress we need to see, we're talking about closing 5 percent to improve air quality impacting the livelihoods and health of people in Oceano and the Nipomo Mesa.

Compton pointed to a recent economic study that the park has an impact of $243 million a year, $1.9 million in state and local taxes, and about 3,300 jobs.

She said the board is put in the middle of mandates, such as the dust rule, which she said has been the focus of millions of dollars of lawsuits.

"We were sued over and over, and we lost almost every time," Compton said. "Taxpayers are paying for that. That to me is ridiculous. Neither side is happy with what is going on, but we can't change it because we have to abide by the dust rule.

She said there's been a lack of transparency from the Air Pollution Control Board and said the public hasn't been told things about studies.

"I hope there is a solution where everybody can be happy, or a little less unhappy," Compton said.

This story was originally published May 11, 2018 at 4:21 PM with the headline "In the poorest town in South County, supervisor candidates debate roads and homelessness."